Don't worry, I hadn't abandoned my story, I just haven't had ANY internet on my laptop for two weeks! :( I'm making sure this chapter is longer than the last since its been a while. Enjoy and please review with any comments or suggestions! I know that these first few chapters stick closely to the movie, but it will be different in a lot of ways after the beginning part.


Chapter 2

C.C. rambled nervously on, unwilling to let Niles have a word in, "We hadn't told anyone, actually we were going to announce it at dinner.. our relationship has been sort of… hidden. You know how the press is and we didn't want paparazzi getting in the way of our.. blooming relationship and all." For the first time she looked toward Niles to read his reaction and see if he'd play along. His face was etched in confusion, eyebrows furrowed slightly, and his mouth in the shape of a whistle. He was staring between her and the rest of the people in the room.

He started, "We are.."

She finished, "Getting married!" She laughed nervously, awkwardly hugging his side. She looked down at the feather duster in his hand, trying to hide the disgust she felt at being pressed up against it.

Mr. Redding looked confused himself, "I'm sorry, but isn't he the Sheffield butler?"

C.C. leaned forward slightly, her hand still on Niles chest, "EXECUTIVE butler, but it wouldn't be the first time someone in this house fell for the help now would it Maxwell!" She laughed nervously again staring in Max and Miss Fine's direction, willing them with her eyes to play along. Fran smiled and Maxwell continued standing there, unwilling to make eye contact with anyone else in the room.

Niles just absentmindedly shook his head, trying to process all that was going on.

"The truth is, Niles and I were just two people who.. weren't meant to fall in love but we.. we did." She felt Niles staring into the side of her head, "You know, all those late nights at the office we have here, social events with dancing, family vacations.. something happened!"

Niles chimed in, "Something.."

"Yeah, we tried to uh, fight it but can't fight a, uh, can't fight a love like ours!" She patted his cheek as he pulled away slightly, "So we are... happy! So happy."

Mr. Redding looked between the two, "Well that is great if this is true, but it needs to be made legal. Now, as part of the Immigration office I'm bound by my position to let you know that if you are attempting to commit fraud in order to avoid your deportation the consequences are dire- Miss Babcock, you could be permanently deported and Niles, as a citizen you could face a felony charge with a 200,000 dollar fine and up to 5 years in federal prison.. now how this works is you will have to go to the immigration office, and they will set up an interview for you to be placed in separate rooms where they will ask you certain questions about each other. Step two is we look at your phone records, we talk to your neighbors, your business associates, and ask them questions about your relationship."

Sensing the nervous stare of Niles he asked, "Niles, is there something you want to say?"

Niles was close to speechless but started on, "Yes, uh, the truth is.." He felt the eyes of every person in the room bearing down on him, "Uh hum, C.C. and I… are just two people who weren't supposed to fall in love but.. did. We didn't tell anyone because of a big promotion I had coming up." C.C. and Maxwell looked at him questioningly as he continued, "We didn't think it would be appropriate that my play be produced.."

C.C. nodded her head in disbelief, "..your play produced?" Maxwell also didn't know what to say. Was his butler blackmailing them?

"Yes, while we were dating." Niles concluded.

Mr. Redding looked confused but pushed forward, "So, have you told your parents yet?"

C.C. replied first, "No no, if I did that the news would be in the tabloids by 4 o'clock today!"

"And what about you Niles, are your parents still alive?"

C.C. cut in for him, "Ah yes, they're still alive and well! Aren't they, sweetie?"

He hadn't even thought of what he would have to tell them if they did indeed go through with this,"Yes, very much."

She continued, "Yes, actually we were planning on telling him when we went to see them this weekend for Gammies 100th birthday!"

Niles had to mask the look of astonishment on his face, "Yes…"

Mr. Redding made some notes in his small notepad, "Ah yes, and where is this party going to be held at?"

Niles nodded his head forward, "England."

"You are going to England this weekend together?"

C.C. shook her head, "Yep!"

"Well, I'll go ahead and schedule you two an appointment down at the Immigration office for Monday, you'll need to go by and pick up the questionnaire folder so you can be prepared for possible questions- we'll see you there!" Mr. Redding left and all of them just stood in shock.

Niles pulled C.C. by the arm into the kitchen.

C.C. just put her hands up, "Okay, we'll go to England, we'll tell them we're getting married, and then I'll be able to keep my job at Sheffield Babcock productions," She reached into her purse sitting on the counter, "Here, use my credit card for the plane ticket, be sure its first class and confirm that they will give me the vegan meal, you know I'm on my diet- last time they gave my meal to an actual vegan and forced me to eat this terrible creamy crab salad. OH and we will have to board Chester, but don't book him at that Doggie Friends place, he prefers Pet Palace.."

Niles shook her by the shoulders and she was instantly quiet, "I'm sorry, were you not just in that room where he explained to me that I could go to FEDERAL PRISON up to five years for fraud?"

C.C. planted her fists on her hips, "Yeah, so?"

"The thing I said about my play, I was serious."

She rolled her eyes, "Produce your crummy play?" She snorted, "No way."

"Then I don't do it and you're screwed, bye bye Babcock." He started walking away.

She grabbed his arm, "OKAY! Fine! Fine, I'll produce your damn play.."

"Not in ten years, right away, AND you'll pay me 500 thousand dollars for the emotional damage that marrying you will cause."

She looked down at papers she had picked out of her purse, "Fine, 500k and off broadway first run.."

"ON broadway first run! And we'll tell my family about our engagement how and when I want! And you can't throw any insults in front of my family, that would be tacky and make me look like a bloody fool.." C.C. nodded and rolled her eyes, "Now ask me nicely."

C.C. looked at him incredulously, "Ask you WHAT nicely?"

Niles shook his head, "Ask me to marry you nicely, get down on one knee.."

She rolled her eyes and looked around to make sure no one was watching. Trying to readjust in her knee length black pencil skirt and heels she slowly got down, "Fine. Will you marry me."

"No, say it like you really mean it."

"Niles, sweet, over-compensating-with-his-large-oven-mits Niles.."

He looked up, "I'm listening."

"Would you pretty please with a cherry on top marry me?"

He looked down at her on her knees in the Sheffield kitchen and responded, "Okay, I don't appreciate the sarcasm but I'll accept on the conditions we've stated."

"Freakin' great." She started to get up, reaching for him to help her and he walked away as she fell on her hands trying to get up. "Damn butler, what have I gotten myself into?"


Thursday morning they were on the plane from JFK airport on the way to England. Niles was looking over a folder that Mr. Redding had dropped off. "Okay, Miss Babcock, so the good news is that I pretty much know all these questions about you but you only have four days to learn all this stuff about me.."

C.C. ripped the folder out of his hand and looked through it, "You know ALL these questions about me, I find that hard to believe."

He put his hands in his lap and sat up straight in challenge, "Try me."

C.C. looked down the list, "Okay, what am I allergic to?"

Niles answered without second thought, "Sage and pine nuts, as well as a wide variety of human emotion."

C.C. rolled her eyes, "HA HA very funny, what is my favorite color?"

"Light blue. What is mine?"

C.C. gave him a disconcerting glance, "Uh.. green? How did you know my favorite color?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "I don't know- and lucky guess, its forrest green."

She looked back down at the folder, "What is my favorite food?"

"Easy, you love ribs even though you hate eating them in front of people, especially your socialite friends, BUT if you are out in public you prefer chicken with some sort of light garlic sauce."

C.C. looked at him like he had grown a second head, "What is your favorite food, pate?"

"No. I'd probably have to go with Belgian Waffles. Breakfast is my favorite meal of the day."

Nodding her head she finally found a question to stump him, "Ah Ha! Okay, what about this- do I have any scars? I know you have a little one right above your lip.."

He looked at her with raised eyebrows, she was trying her best not to let on exactly why she knew or noticed, "Hm. Well, I'm almost positive you have a tattoo.."

Her eyebrows shot up to the top of her head and she laughed, "Oh you're almost positive, huh?"

"Yes, remember when the whole thing with Fran's tattoo came out? I saw the look on your face, I didn't put two and two together until a couple of months after when your dermatologist called the mansion and started talking about an appointment you had made with a Qu-switch laser. I looked it up on Brighton's computer and it happens to be a laser whose specialty is taking off tattoos. But you cancelled your appointment! So what is it… a rose, skull, barbed wire?"

She continued on, ignoring the questioning glare, "Whose place do we stay at yours or mine? Easy, mine."

"Why yours?"

C.C. laughed, well, you have your ten by ten room and stacks of hopeful broadway and Seinfield scripts under your bed at Maxwell's and I have my upper east Park Avenue penthouse!"

The flight attendant announced that they would be arriving in Portsmouth Harbor in ten minutes. "Portsmouth Harbor, I thought your family lived in Hayling?"

"They do."

C.C. crossed her arms, "And how do we plan on getting to Hayling? I thought you lived on an island or something."

Niles looked out the window as the plane slowly approached the small hut of a building that was the Portsmouth Harbor airport and saw his mother, elderly gammie, and sister waving large poster boards welcoming him home, "Here we go." He said quietly to himself.

They exited the plane and he started toward the three women waiting for him, "Hi!" He waved excitedly.

"You're suffocating him Mum! Come here, big brother!" His sister, Diandra, pulled him into a warm hug. She had the same sandy blonde hair but instead of Niles' piercing blue eyes she had her mother's green ones. "Where is your girl?"

They all looked back to see C.C. dragging her couture luggage down the sidewalk in her heels, looking terribly worn out.

His mother looked surprised at the blonde beauty walking toward them, "I guess 'girl' isn't the right word.."

Don't forget to REVIEW!