"Give The Butler His Dues"
After all the rush and excitement of the day, the late night quiet that settled over the hospital came as a relief to C.C. At least her head had stopped throbbing. But the longer she lay in her bed, the more difficult it became to fall asleep. Something was missing … or better yet, someone … and he was just a few doors down the hall.
Getting out of the hospital bed, she slipped on her robe then carefully exited her room, keeping a close watch for the night nurse. She had already found the overbearing, bossy woman both unreasonable and unbribeable. Who would have thought that wanting to visit another patient let alone her husband would be such a big deal? All she had was a bump on her head. But the large, matronly women wouldn't hear of it, her reason being that all concussion patients needed quiet and rest. Including newlyweds.
What the silly twit of a nurse didn't understand was that resting without at least seeing Niles would be impossible. It was their wedding night after all. Where was the woman's sense of romance? But when C.C. made it down the hall undetected and finally snuck into his room, her concerns about the nurse and being caught no longer mattered. She was where she needed to be.
As she closed the door behind her, she found only the bed lights on and even though they were dimmed, there was enough light to see Niles asleep and looking so peaceful despite the square bandage covering the left side of his temple. Seeing that made C.C. grin as she raised a hand up to her own bandage, a perfect match to his only on the right side of her temple. The bandages marked the spot where they had hit their heads together earlier when they fainted in the delivery room. What a bizarre conclusion to a whole train of unexpected events. But she and Niles had even done anything the conventional way.
Earlier that night, she had attended the Sheffield's anniversary party with Niles, never expecting he would propose - again. Then before she could process that and all the confusion and feelings it generated in her, Nanny Fine had gone into labor. Being part of the delivery of new twin babies would have been amazing alone. Yet somehow mixed in the process, she had agreed to marry Niles and within minutes of the delivery, they had exchanged their lightning fast wedding vows. As if that weren't enough, they had then received news that they would be expecting a baby of their own.
C.C. sighed heavily. It was no wonder they had both fainted. But despite it all, she moved her hand down over her lower abdomen and smiled once again as she lovingly stroked the area where their baby would soon be showing. Because the more she thought about it, the more she liked her new titles ... wife and mother. Mostly because it meant she finally belonged somewhere and to someone … with him, she thought as she looked over at the sweet man in the bed just across from her. And she had never felt so much love for anyone in her life.
"Pssst ... hey, Butler Boy," she softly hissed in a loud whisper. When she received no reply, she tried again. "Niles ...? You awake?"
Niles slowly opened his eyes then grinned in recognition as he looked across the room at C.C. … his new wife. He still couldn't believe it had really happened, that they were really married. And it didn't even matter that her hospital gown was no wedding night negligee. She couldn't have looked more beautiful to him if she tried.
"Well, if it isn't the Bride of Butler Boy," he teased in return. "How are you enjoying our wedding night so far?"
"Oh, it's just peachy," C.C. replied, not even bothering to disguise her irritation. As she walked over to him, she signaled for him to scoot over then gracefully climbed up on to the bed next to him. "But I at least want to sleep with my husband tonight if I can't do anything else."
Niles softly laughed as he wrapped his arms around her, enjoying the way she snuggled in tightly against his chest.
"Leave it to us to mess even this up," she murmured sleepily, already more at peace just being at his side than she had been all night in her room alone.
"I always told you that you were hard-headed," he replied. "Too bad I had to find out by literally butting heads with you."
"And what about you?" She protested, raising her head just enough to look him in the eyes. Those sparkling pale blue eyes that had secretly won her over years ago and still held her captive. "You ain't the only one with a concussion here, buddy."
They both stared blankly at one another for a moment then simultaneously giggled before C.C. once again rested her head on his chest.
They fell into a comfortable, easy silence even as Niles silently wondered about her. He suspected that while alone in her room, she had no doubt been fretting over all that had happened to them. Details always had been her thing and she studied them over and over until she knew all the angles of any situation. It was one of the traits that had made her such a successful producer and business partner to Mr. Sheffield. But now, after she had been proposed to, trapped in an elevator with a nearly hysterical woman in labor, married, taken part in the birth of the Sheffield's twins, then found out she was also pregnant, all in the space of a few hours … well ... any one of those things would have given C.C. reason to stew, let alone all of them.
"So," Niles gently said after a moment, "you feeling all right? About everything that happened today, I mean?"
"Maybe a little scared," she tentatively replied, unknowingly confirming his suspicions. "And just a tad bit overwhelmed." Then she smiled. "But even though I don't have the vaguest idea how I'm going to do it, being a wife and a mother ... I am so happy, Niles. And I promise, I'm going to give both my best damn try."
Not even the most expensive wedding gift in the world would have meant as much to Niles as those words from her did. In response, he happily grinned and briefly squeezed his arms, hugging her tightly against him for a moment as if to reassure her.
"I know you will," he gently said, placing a light kiss on her forehead. "And I am very much looking forward to seeing you in both roles."
"You really sure you're ready for that?" C.C. asked, a tinge of doubt in her tone. "Because not only are you going to have to start living with me, bad habits and all, you're going to have to put up with me being pregnant, too. And so soon after going through all that with Nanny Fine."
"Bring it on, kiddo," Niles boldly said, still grinning. "I'm more than ready. Because I absolutely adore you and nothing is ever going to change that."
"Niles ... I do love you," C.C. wistfully replied in return, touched by the confirmation of his feelings for her. "I hope you know that."
The emotion in her voice was a surprise and Niles lovingly kissed her forehead again in response.
"I do indeed. I just hope I'll find some way to support you and this little one who is on the way," he remarked as he brushed the back of his fingers over her stomach. "Now more than ever, my simply being a butler seems insufficient."
C.C. smiled then softly laughed at his words. With all that had happened, she had forgotten that she had some news for him that was going to knock his immaculate black butler socks off ... socks she had seen for the first time during that "Risky Business" dance of his, she thought with a wicked grin.
"Believe me, baby," she smoothly replied, still thinking of him dancing in his underwear, "you've got nothing to worry about because I've got you covered. From now on, you can do whatever you want, when you want. You're a man of means."
"Are you suggesting that I become your 'kept man,' Heiress?" He teased but with an underlying tone of concern.
"Well, the thought had crossed my mind," she teased back. "God knows I've got more money than the two of us will ever need." Then she looked up at him once again and her tone became serious. "But I know you ... I know you so well … you stubborn, pompous jackass ... and living off me will only make you miserable." She paused before giving him one of her slow, sexy trademark grins. "But like I said, I've got you covered." From the look on his face, he remained unconvinced, and C.C. quickly elaborated. "When have you ever known me not to plan ahead?"
"Well … you've got a point there," Niles answered. "But I still don't understand what you're getting at."
"Come on, Niles … making money is my forte," she further explained. "It's the one thing I can push around and make do what I want. But I've also seen how miserable not having any has made you. Not that I blame you because I know how much Maxwell doesn't actually pay you. But what you do for Maxwell and the way you love both him and his kids ... well, it hasn't gone unnoticed, my love. That kind of loyalty is pretty damn rare, at least in the circles Maxwell and I travel it, and he really does admire you for it." She smiled at him again. "So do I."
"You know," Niles said a little breathlessly, trying to comprehend all she just said. "When you give a compliment, you really give a compliment."
"Well, get used to it ... I've been practicing," she grinned before her expression became reflective once again. "But what I'm really trying to tell you is that Maxwell and I ... well ... we've been keeping something from you. Something we planned on telling you earlier tonight. With everything that happened, though, we just never got the chance."
"Am I at least going to like it?" He tentatively asked, both a little disappointed and hurt by her possible deception.
"Oh ... of course!" C.C. quickly covered, realizing she had given him the wrong idea. "It's all good ... very good! Because you see, my darling, the reason you haven't been making much money from Maxwell wasn't because he's a stingy man. Far from it. It's just that on the negotiation of your last contract ... a contract, I might add, you had a fit about because I was the one who insisted Maxwell draw one up ..."
"I had a fit about it because I thought you were sabotaging me in your usual underhanded way!" He interrupted, trying to defend himself.
His show of temper just made C.C. grin again. "Little did you know, huh, Jeeves?" Then she giggled as she playfully slapped his chest. "I had the contract drawn up because there had to be a legal paper trail. You see, not all the money you were making was showing up in your pocket because a certain percentage of it has been going straight to me via a trust that I've been managing ever since you signed the contract."
"A trust?" Niles asked, bewildered. "What are you talking about? I didn't know about any trust."
"Always ... always read the fine print, Niles," she gently reprimanded him, reminding him of just what a professional shark she was. "Or better yet, let me do it for you from now on, because both Maxwell and I knew you wouldn't notice it. So, that let him covertly turn part of your compensation package into a trust of stocks, bonds, and options ... sort of like a savings account … and separate from your retirement fund. Money you wouldn't receive until you either left his service, retired, or he found a really good reason to give it to you … which he did today."
"Money?!" He asked, a frown creasing his expression in disbelief and confusion. "Just how much are we talking about here?"
C.C. softly laughed again at his interest, mostly as it signaled the shock was wearing off and he was beginning to warm up to the idea.
"Well, you and I share similar portfolios. With the overall percentage gains over the past three quarters, I have you performing well above the normal rate."
"Ooooo, I love it when you talk dirty," Niles grinned, not really understanding what she was saying but very impressed by it, anyway. Then he realized she was probably just teasing him again. "So, I'm a millionaire now," he sarcastically played along, "just like you and Mr. Sheffield."
"No, not just 'a' million," C.C. replied, flicking her fingers in an upward motion. "A little higher than that." When Niles visibly paled at her meaning, she smiled at him and explained further. "You are never going to have to worry about money again."
"Oh, come on," he deflected once more, still not believing what he was hearing. "There is no ... possible ... way ... that … I …"
The way C.C. arched her eyebrow in that way of hers, signaling she was more than ready for his challenge made Niles slow his words then stop completely.
"I never joke about money, Niles," C.C. succinctly said, her precise tone backing up her words. "I made my mine by taking the modest trust fund my parents gave me and putting it work. There was no reason why I couldn't do the same for you ... and even for Maxwell … which I did." Then she softened and smiled again. "But the money aside, what really matters is the way Maxwell Sheffield absolutely treasures you. He has always been looking out for you, no matter how bubble-headed or distracted he may seem at times. And now it's about to pay off … and at more than 6 bucks an hour."
When Niles said nothing in return, clearly trying to digest all she had told him, C.C. lightly traced her finger over his jaw in the way she knew he loved, forcing him concentrate back on her.
"Money … for me?" He asked in a mixture of awe and bewilderment. "You both did that … for me?"
"Even though it's only lately that I've realized why you are such a treasure," she continued, "I never had any doubt that you deserved to be rewarded by Maxwell. He just wanted you to end up with everything you've always dreamed about." Then she stopped and gave him another of her infamous grins. "Plus I figured when all was said and done, you'd have to live with the fact that you owed it all to me. The thought of holding that kind of power over you was too tempting to pass up."
"So … you've known all along that I wasn't really a broke old bell boy?" He asked, his sense of humor starting to return.
"Well … yeah!" She stammered then found the way to play along. "I just wanted there to be no doubt that I was after you and not your money."
When Niles laughed out loud at her comment, C.C. joined him until they both grimaced and stopped, realizing too late that laughter was not the best medicine where concussions were concerned.
As he gazed down at the happily radiant blonde at his side, Niles finally realized one of the most important reasons why Mr. Sheffield had kept C.C. around for so long, even with as nasty and temperamental as she could be. Maxwell had obviously discovered her potential, just like he had, then put her to work for him … for all of them … allowing her to make them millions in both business deals and personal investments. Yet Niles' lifelong dream of having money now seemed secondary.
Receiving such a show of appreciation from his boss truly did amaze him. What could one say about the person who had just fulfilled a dream of a lifetime like that? But looking down at C.C. again, the dream Niles held in his arms was much more important because she had been the one to execute Mr. Sheffield's wishes with her usual intelligence and skill.
Just the staggering sexiness of her self-confidence alone when it came to anything financial would have made him crazy about her all over again. But after all she had done, there was no longer any doubt that in choosing to love her, despite all the formidable odds she had always presented him with, had turned out to be the best decision he had ever made.
"I must say, Ms. Babcock," Niles said with the grin as he reverted back to his more formal butler tone, grateful he no longer needed to conceal just how much she meant to him. "You have not only left me speechless ... I am also very much impressed with you." Then he softened and happily sighed. "You never cease to amaze me."
His approval ran through C.C. like liquid heat, giving her butterflies, and she quickly leaned up to him in reply. Managing his money had been such a little thing at the time. Now it had turned out to be one of the most important things she had ever done, just because of the renewed confidence and joy it gave him in return.
Regardless of the money, though, C.C. now knew there was nothing else separating them … she and Niles were equals. The one-time butlerized bane of her existence had turned the mantra she had been taught all her life about the differences between the social elite and those that served into one great big lie. And because of that, she had gotten the chance to be in love with and loved by the man of her dreams.
"Now, stop worrying about being, 'just a butler,' will you?" She playfully scolded him. "Because, like I told you ... I've got you covered. We're partners now. And we are going to do such great things together, Niles."
Niles once again wrapped her in his arms and held her tightly against him. Nothing could compare to knowing that two of the people he cared most about in the world had been looking out for him all along. And because of that, he would remain at their sides, serving them forever.
Once they fell quiet again, it didn't take long before exhaustion finally won out over their conscious need to be together and sleep overtook them. And when the night nurse came in shortly after, her stern frown at finding them together quickly faded seeing the couple asleep together. Despite the rules, she couldn't bring herself to wake them, so she quietly backed out of the door, letting it softly close behind her.
If anything, letting them stay together would be a whole lot easier than trying to keep them apart. Especially with that blonde who had nearly driven her crazy earlier that night, trying to get out of bed.