"Rise and shine, Miss Babcock!"
"No..." CC moans but it's too late. That damned butler pulls back the curtains and allows a stream of golden sunshine to flood through the room.
She winces as the sun's dancing rays hit her like a slap in the face.
Crashing in one of Maxwell's guest rooms after the Tony Awards had seemed like such a great idea last night. It meant that she wouldn't have to worry about getting home on her own, she wouldn't have to shell out money for accommodation in a city hotel and she wouldn't have to travel far to get to work the next morning.
It would've been the perfect plan, had she not failed to take one thing into account. She hadn't thought about the ramifications of being hung-over and at Niles' mercy.
...
"Go away, Butler Boy," she groaned as she covered her face with her pillow. "Don't you have something to dust?"
"How about the left side of this bed?" Niles said with a smirk.
Underneath the duvet, she clenched her fist. Ooh, if her head wasn't throbbing so badly, she'd give that servant a piece of her mind...
"I'm never drinking again," she declared instead, massaging her still-aching forehead.
Niles chuckled. "I'll remind you of that when you ask me to pour you a scotch in a few hours."
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?" she asked sharply, seeing the amusement which sparkled in his blue eyes.
"Oh, of course not," he replied, smiling innocently at her. And then he grinned. "I don't like to kick a dog when she's down."
CC glared at him. "Do you even have a reason to be here, Rochester?" she snapped. "Or are you just here to add to my misery?"
"You're always miserable," he countered lightly.
Seeing her eyes narrow, he hastened to make amends by leaving the room for a few seconds and coming back with a tray.
"Jokes aside, I've made you some breakfast, Miss Babcock."
"I couldn't eat a thing," CC groaned, feeling her stomach churn at the very thought of food.
"I have the cure for that," Niles answered. "I picked this up from Mr Sheffield's father. It was his favourite hangover remedy. 'Hair of the dog' as they say."
She eyed him suspiciously, waiting for him to crack the inevitable joke, but he surprised her by remaining silent and handing her a glass.
"Do you really expect me to drink this?" she asked warily. She couldn't even begin to imagine how the grayish-green concoction would help her queasiness. If she needed a laxative, perhaps...
"Don't knock it until you've tried it," he said with a shrug. "Appearances can be deceiving but I assure you, this baby here will soon have you as right as rain."
CC stared glumly at the glass.
"You and Mr Sheffield have a meeting with some investors in two hours," he reminded her. "You don't want to be facing them feeling like this, do you?"
CC frowned unhappily. She had forgotten about that meeting. No, she certainly didn't want to face three of New York's wealthiest businessmen like this.
"You didn't put anything unsavoury in here, did you?" she asked snidely as she inspected the glass, wondering how that grayish-green liquid could possibly be fit for human consumption.
"Please, give me some credit," Niles sighed. "If I wanted to kill you, there are much easier ways."
CC hesitated before picking up the glass. She couldn't quite bring herself to bring it to her lips, however.
"I don't know about this," she demurred.
"Close your eyes if it helps," Niles suggested. For once, he didn't sound insulting or condescending – he actually sounded sympathetic. And kind.
CC obediently closed her eyes, confused by her last thought. Since when did she ever attribute positive characteristics to Niles? She was getting soft.
"Now, bottoms up," he instructed gently.
CC tentatively took a small sip. The drink didn't taste nearly as bad as she had feared. In fact, it was actually almost... pleasant.
"It tastes sweet!" she exclaimed in surprise, going back for another sip...and then another.
"And so it should. It's got honey and cinnamon in it. Among other ingredients of course, but I've found that honey and cinnamon are the dominant flavours."
"You could make a fortune marketing this stuff!" CC said in astonishment when she'd downed the glass and immediately started feeling... well, not quite her normal self, but considerably better than she had been half an hour ago.
Niles shook his head. "It's an old family secret that Mr Sheffield's father entrusted with my father – I won't use it for personal profit."
He deftly changed the subject. "Do you feel up to having some breakfast now, Miss Babcock?"
Not that long ago, CC had doubted she'd be able to even swallow one bite, but suddenly she felt famished.
"I could eat," she admitted.
He picked up the tray he'd carried in before and laid it carefully in her lap. Then, as if sensing her need for some peace and quiet, he left the room.
...
CC's stomach growled unexpectedly upon seeing the contents of the tray.
She'd been anticipating something greasy like bacon and eggs and was silently relieved that Niles hadn't included either of those items.
There was a large glass of fresh-squeezed orange juice, a bowl of yoghurt with slices of mango in it, a banana and a toasted crumpet slathered with peanut butter.
Just what she needed.
Half an hour later, she sighed contentedly as she chugged the last of the orange juice and pushed the empty breakfast tray away.
As if on cue, Niles returned a few minutes later and picked up the tray.
"Are you feeling better now, Miss Babcock?" he inquired.
"Much better," CC said in surprise. "I guess that Maxwell's father's remedy really did the trick."
"I thought it might."
"You know, Niles," CC murmured contemplatively, "you're really not such a bad person when you're being nice."
He grinned. "I could say the same for you," he shot back, as he left.
...
Author's Note: Another (short) break from My Fair Butler.
I'm in bed with the flu at the moment and I was thinking about being sick and suddenly this little story popped into my head. I feel like this could be a series, with subsequent chapters covering different scenes in which either Niles or CC is unwell and they wind up looking after each other. The stories won't follow any particular timeline or even be chronological. They'll just be a series of oneshots, if that makes sense.
Want to read more? All you need to do is review.
You might want to place this story on alert for future chapters too.