Matchmaker, Matchmaker

Operation light-a-fire-under-their-tucheses has begun!

Story by Miko1725--I do not claim to own any of the characters or original storylines from the show. Thank you, and happy reading!

Three years now. Three long, wonderful years since fate had brought her to their doorstep; since the family had been whole again; since humor and fun had been restored to the Sheffield residence. Before the arrival of Ms. Fran Fine, Maxwell Sheffield had lost all passion and warmth--with the loss of Sara, he had turned inward and subsequently lost a part of himself. His inability to cope with the situation himself made it impossible to help the children through this trying time in their lives. That was when the nannies started coming in left and right--not a one fit the mold. SHE had been a godsend, bringing a smile to the children's faces and pulling Maxwell back into the world of the living.

Niles sighed and continued dusting: "it's a real pity those two can't see what they have in each other…"

The house was particularly quiet today: Maxwell was at the theatre, and would be there most of the day; Fran was at her parents house and the children had been out shopping all morning. Niles meandered into the kitchen and, pouring himself a cup of tea, sat at the table.

From the moment she had come to the door, Niles had seen it. The chemistry between the two was clear as day. The way he joked with her regarding her resume and played off of her comments was a direct indication--he'd even had a genuine grin here and there, something Niles had not seen in some time. Even though he'd fired Fran for overstepping her boundaries, the man had done something incredible: admitted that he made a mistake! Not only that, he went in person to ask her back. Niles smiled, remembering those first several weeks with renewed fondness.

"Oh, hi Niles!" Maggie walked in, followed by her brother and sister, and placed her shopping bags on the island. "Are Dad and Fran here?"

"No Ms. Margaret, your father is at the theatre and Ms. Fine is at her parents. Was there anything you needed?"

"Not really," she admitted shrugging. Niles cocked his eyebrow. "I was kind of wondering what was going on this morning at breakfast--they hardly said two words to each other."

"Oh, don't worry about that. You know your father, he probably said or did something insensitive to Ms. Fine the other day. It'll pass."

And oh boy had he done something stupid! Niles had overheard (when the intercom accidentally turned on while he was cleaning it) one of that mans worst blunders to date:

"What do you mean I can't go?"

"I'm sorry Ms. Fine, but this is strictly a family event and you are just the nanny."

Pause.

Pause.

Pause.

"I beg your pardon?"

"Ms. Fine please don't take offense, but yes: you are the nanny."

"You'd think after all this time I might have moved up in rank a little!"

"Please don't make this more difficult than it has to be!"

"What difficult? You just have to sit back and tell me I can't go. If I'm not family, why should it be a hard task for you?"

"Because I care about your bloody feelings and contrary to what you may think, I don't like upsetting you."

"You know what, it's fine. You go to your little family event. Have fun."

The door slamming and fast-paced clicking sounds from her heels concluded the exchange.

"Niles, you know what happened, don't you?" His pause had caught Brighton's attention and now the little schemer was looking at him inquisitively. "Don't make me get out the interrogation lamps."

"If you must know, and you didn't hear it from me, your father told Ms. Fine she's not invited to the dinner Saturday evening because it's strictly a family affair, and she's not family."

The children just stared at him dumbfounded. He couldn't very well blame them. Even though it was unofficial, they were family: Fran had never been 'the nanny.' From day one she acted as wife and mother, no more and no less.

"I cannot believe Daddy would say that to Fran!" Maggie looked positively furious.

"That's just wrong," Brighton muttered. "Fran is not just the nanny…"

Gracie looked up and sighed: "why doesn't Daddy just tell Fran he loves her so they can get married? Then no one could say she's not family."

The room paused. Now how was he going to field that one. Gossiping with the children a little was one thing, but this was getting into dangerous territory now. Fortunately, Maggie chimed in with a perfectly suitable response:

"Grace, it doesn't work like that. They have to WANT to get married, and I don't think they do."

"Have you MET Fran?" Brighton smirked, "if Dad asked her to marry him tomorrow she'd have the wedding planned before dinner!"

"Touché Master Brighton."

"Besides, Dad's in love with Fran, so the whole idea really isn't so far fetched."

"Yes, but Daddy has a guilt-complex fueled by a fear of loss and abandonment, brought on by a lack of family interaction as a child as well as the loss of Mom, which in turn gives him a fear of commitment. It'll never happen."

"Maybe they just need a little… push?" Maggie grinned mischievously.

"Well, I simply cannot be involved in whatever you are planning and discourage you from getting involved in your father and Ms. Fine's personal lives. Oh, by the way--your father's dinner meeting for tomorrow was cancelled but I've yet to cancel the reservation or erase the appointment from his book. The number for the rainbow room is on his desk if you don't mind taking care of it for me. And remember," he walked towards the door, turning only briefly to wink, "don't do anything I wouldn't do."