I decided to make a writing experiment: what can I do with dialogue and action, and as little introspection and description as I can manage, in a one-shot?
(Obviously, things got out of control and I felt like dividing the story in some chapters. It's still focused on dialogue and action, but got much longer than I expected. It will probably have three parts and, once it is already written, I'll post one per day.)
So, as Niles would say in that sexy voice of his dream world – Let's find out!
Truth Serum
By AllTheSnakes
Part 1
Niles breathed deeply and squared his shoulders, warming up for the challenge.
Fran patted his back, 'You can do it, Sweetie!'
He nodded, turned to the guestroom door and raised his left hand to knock.
'Go get her!', the brunette cheered.
The butler raised a brow at the nanny, 'I'm not sure this is the right assessment to the situation at hand'.
'Oh, I know, she's the one into hunting and bla bla bla', she waved a hand and urged him, 'Just do it'.
Niles adjusted his flannel pajamas, glanced at the book on his right hand, raised his head again and knocked two times, quickly, before opening the door and standing at the threshold.
CC Babcock was lying on the middle of the bed, clad in her black silk pajamas, as if she had thrown herself there and not moved for a while.
She turned her head to see who had entered the room.
And opened a huge grin, 'Hiiiii, Niles!'
Amused by her overjoyed tone, he greeted her with a smile, 'Hello, hello, Miss Babcock'.
The blonde giggled at him saying her trademark greeting, and Niles gave a step ahead and slammed the door behind him without even looking – everything to get rid of a snickering nanny.
CC stretched like a kitten (and Niles thought he would never be able to understand the nickname his father had given her!), and got up from the bed.
The butler waited to see what she would do, ready to help if it was necessary.
She didn't have any difficulties coordenating. She seemed a bit hesitant, while raising the covers and getting back on the bed – this time under them – with no more external signs of inner trouble than some frowning.
He kept observing while she sat with her back on the headborad, reached out to pull the sheets, stopped middle movement as if pondering seriously over how to do it properly, finally decided it would have to do and patted the mattress, 'Come here, buddy!'
He mentally thanked the superior forces that provided them to be alone for such a bizarre moment and obeyed, sitting carefully at the other half of the bed, mirroring her position (back to the headboard, covers on his waist) and resting the book he had brought with him and his glasses (that he had put in the chest pocket of his pajama's shirt) on his lap.
'So', she started, seemingly eager for a conversation, 'You're staying with me to make sure I won't embarass myself?'
'Yes', he smiled at her, 'Can you believe the irony of it?'
She smiled back, then motioned to the object on his lap, 'What is it you have there?'
'Oh, I forgot press didn't exist in the Middle Ages', he lifted it for her to see, 'It's called a book'.
She cringed her nose, 'I know, smart-ass. I meant which one is it'.
He pointed at the title in the cover, 'Here it says Jane Eyre'.
'Oh', she was happily surprised, and poked him with her elbow, 'Are we going for some innuendo, or what?'
Niles just looked at her for some moments, not getting it, and then the memory of a night some months ago came to him (a night when she had called him Rochester and other interesting better not think about it things happened), and he realized it had been the worst choice of book ever.
'I swear, Miss Babcock, that I just took the first book I thought would be adequate to the situation...'
'Uhum', she agreed, a malicious grin on her face.
He got defensive, 'I mean it's a classic, and a long story, that could get me entertained all through the night'.
'So, you think I'm not capable of entertaining you for a whole night?'
Niles frowned slightly, 'We both know tonight you're not in your top form'.
'It means when I am, you consider the possibility of me entertaining you for a long time', she smiled, 'Noted'.
Niles looked away, suddenly finding the wall ahead of them really interesting.
'Is it yours?', she asked, suddenly.
Niles looked back at her and understood she meant the book. Relieved she was not pursuing the previous point, he nodded, 'Yes'.
'Do you have many books?'
'Not as many as I'd like'.
'They are all in your room?'
'The ones I cherish most, yes'.
'What about the others? Did you sell them to pay for that trip to a tropical paradise some years ago?', she raised a brow, 'You know – that one'.
He pretended he didn't get her reference (to that unforgettable time they spent two days finding each other accidently every place they went, finally gave up denying they had a lot of tastes in common and had a terrific week together they swore never mention again), and answered just the first question, 'Some of them are in the office, and a few I gave as a gift to Miss Grace when she started her Literature classes'.
'You don't have space for all your books in your room? I never entered there, but I suppose it's not that small'.
He detected sincere curiosity on her voice, this time, 'I would have if I had just books, but I started buying movies, some time ago, and then the space was not enough and I had to make choices', he smirked, 'I couldn't have Silence the Lambs, movie and book, for example – what would people think?'
She got silent for a moment, just looking at him.
Then, she spoke, 'People would not think anything. At least, who really knows you would never think anything bad about you', she raised a finger to make a point, 'I mean people who know you and have more than half a brain, what makes Nanny Fine and that time when she thought you were a murderer as the exception that proves the rule'.
Getting uncomfortable at the lack of a zinger, Niles stared ahead again, clearing his throat in search of an effective way to distract himself from a funny feeling.
'Are you going to read for me?'
'Uhm?'
'You've made a sound with your throat as if you were preparing to read out loud. You have a beautiful voice. I wouldn't mind'.
'If you think it will help you to sleep, I can read'.
'Niles, I may be kind of high, but I'm not a child'.
He smiled at her indignant raised eyebrow, 'I just thought it could help you. I can't indulge in sleeping, because I must keep an eye on you, but you can rest, if you wish to', he stage whispered, 'I promise not to paint your face'.
She crossed her arms on her chest, 'I'm not sleepy'.
She stated and pouted.
Niles raised his brows at her petulant child mood, 'So I see'.
They stayed in silence for some moments, she sulking and looking ahead, he smiling and looking at her.
She got agitated, 'I still don't understand why I have to be watched like that'.
Niles sighed and answered patiently, 'You drank a massive dose of a substance being tested to be used as truth serum by the Military, Miss Babcock...'
She groaned, 'Stupid Nanny Fine...'
'She didn't do it on purpose. The Colonel is an important backer, he mentioned the drug in a social meeting, she doubted it worked and he brought the thing for her to see. The fact she broke the recipient, some of it fell into your drink and you chugged at it as usual, without a second thought, was just a happy coincidence'.
Niles ended his tirade more excited by the situation than he should, and CC smiled at his mood.
'Still', she added, 'I don't see why I have to be watched'.
'Then I must remind you that, once we realized what had happened – what, I must say, was a lucky thing, you being your usual mean self, just more physical and joyful...'
She pressed her lips together to not prove him right with a new fit of giggling, because she remembered perfectly how people had noticed something was amiss: Niles delivered a particularly witty zinger and she pulled him into her arms for a quick celebratory hug and a peck on the lips, in front of Maxwell, Nanny Fine, the Colonel and his wife.
(The memory of the butler's shocked face would be her preferred source of amusement for a long time, she suspected.)
'The Colonel explained the possible reactions you could have, we asked how you were feeling, you said you were fine and we could leave you alone, but first thing you did when we turned our backs and left the office was calling your father to sing Trains and Boats and Planes', he shook his head, 'Fortunately, I went to check on you to make sure I would be there to take a photograph if you had some bizarre side-effect as trying to eat the sofa, and caught you in the middle of the show'.
CC opened her arms, 'Who knows when I will be able to express my feelings like that again?', she shrugged, 'It was a pity you caught me, Bell Boy. I had already planned my next call'.
'To whom would it be?'
'My mother'.
'I suppose you were not singing to her'.
'Nope', and she let out a devilish smile.
Niles smiled, too, 'Oh, Miss Babcock, even if seeing you with your emotional filters down and getting frisky around communication devices seems an interesting prospect, Mister Sheffield decided we can't let you do anything out of character'.
'Those are your orders?'
'Aye, aye, Sir'.
She shrugged, 'Ok, then'.
He was surprised, 'Just like that? You're not fussing?'
'I trust your judgement'.
'Since when?'
'Oh, well, we say the nastiest things to each other, but I'm usually just teasing, so I think the same goes for you. Once I don't really hate you, I think you don't really hate me, and wouldn't take advantage of me in a situation like this, when I can't do the same to you. Besides, you're clever and often use the zingers to send me important messages, so I double check when you point out things', she baited her lashes at him, 'Get it?'
'What?'
'That I think you're the kind of guy who is worth double-checking'.
Niles fought an urge to get off the bed and run from the room.
(If he stayed, how would he deal with Babcock being supposedly the most sincere she could ever be, while saying her zingers were just for fun, complimenting his intelligence and body and being cool about the fact they were sharing the same bed for the night?
He should have refused to come. How was it that an argument like She is obviously fond of you, tonight, Old Man had made any sense?!)
He must have made a freaked out face, because she raised her brows in curiosity.
Niles put his reading glasses on and opened the book, indicating the conversation was over.
They stayed in silence for some moments.
'I bet Maxwell said something like, Old man, please, I need you to take care of CC. We can't have her doing something...'
'...she may regret tomorrow', Niles completed, not taking his eyes off the book, 'Yes, he said exactly that'.
'That man is so predictable!'
'And still, you like him'.
Niles spoke and his eyes shifted from the page for a moment, catching his jealousy and praying she didn't.
'I don't like him', she stated, 'Not that way'.
That answer was unexpected, and he had to look at her, 'I thought you had taken truth serum, Babcock'.
'I did'.
'So...', he frowned and took off the glasses, 'Why do you want to marry Mister Sheffield if you don't like him that way?'
CC turned her torso to the man by her side, 'Because I just realized I wanted him when Sara came into the scene. I had been so focused on my career and bantering with you that I let him slip through my fingers. But then he became available again, and once he is quite handsome and sexy, we see each other every day and I was still single, I thought – Oh, well, why not?', she shrugged and rested her back on the headboard, getting more comfortable, 'It's a pity he is so boring I can't manage a decent move on him. All that I do, thinking it will get to him, is like doing nothing. It's getting tiring and annoying as time goes by', she studied her nails, 'He is so boring he doesn't even get what I consider a move'.
Niles stayed looking at her for some moments, then muttered, 'Not as much boring as I am, I suppose'.
(He felt like a boy sulking because the girl he liked prefered another boy.
To cover it, he looked ahead, mirroring her again.)
'You're not boring, Niles. You're sometimes annoying and irritating. Always intriguing. Never boring'.
Niles looked at her again, and she was grinning her head off at him.
'Besides, you get when I'm flirting with you', she stated, 'It's refreshing that we understand each other so well', she got serious, 'Often, our exchanges are the highlights of my day'.
They stayed looking at each other in silence, and he was sure, now, that he had a freaked out face.
He got back hurriedly to reading.
'You forgot the glasses', she said.
'Uhm?'
'The glasses. You can't pretend you're reading without them'.
She spoke and giggled.
He eyed the glasses on the bed between them and bit his lower lip in embarassment.
She giggled again.
He decided to distract her, 'How does it feel?'
'Good. You're funny'.
'What? No, I mean the serum. Are you in any discomfort? The Colonel said it works very well, but has provoked a variety of side effects. Some people have hallucinations, others get dizzy...', she stretched again, her arms up and then forward, and Niles had a hard time concentrating while looking at her graceful movements, 'Aren't you feeling weird?'
'No more than usual', she winked at him, 'Don't worry. I feel a bit lightheaded, but more relaxed than anything else... And not relaxed as when you pretend you're serving me decaf', she settled again, 'However, I feel like speaking every thing that comes to mind. It must be terrifying when you have a secret and is going to be interrogated'.
'It means you don't have a secret you're afraid to tell?', he teased.
'I obviously have. Everybody has secrets. I meant it's scary if you're, let's say, a captured spy, as we see in movies – a person who knows war secrets and stuff. The commom folk would just have sexual fetishes to confess. It's blackmail material, but it's personal, not what an entire country wants to know', she giggled at the notion, 'Of course, the press makes millions with sexual scandals, so maybe it would not be so off the mark'.
Niles regretted asking – all he didn't need was CC Babcock talking about her sexual preferences while sharing a bed with him and not mastering her impulses – and opened the book again.
This time he made sure to remember the glasses.
