The Accident

Chapter 2

By the time Niles had gotten C.C. in her wheelchair and into the house, he realized just how exhausted he had become, and he imagined that she must have been feeling the same.

"Okay, Miss Babcock, let's get you settled in upstairs in the guestroom. Put your arm around me like before, and I'll carry you," he said, leaning down and extending his arms to her.

"And have you hurt me again?" she snapped, rolling her wheelchair back away from him. "Ha! I don't think so, Butler Boy. You just want to finish me off by dropping me down the stairs! I'll just sleep down here on the couch, thank you."

Niles let out a frustrated sigh and rolled his eyes at her.

"Don't be silly. You can't sleep on the couch in your condition. You need a comfortable bed to lie down in. I'm just trying to help you, believe it or not."

"Oh, sure," she said with disbelief evident in her voice.

"Fine," he finally snapped back, throwing up his hands at her. "Sleep on the floor like any old dog, for all I care, but you can't say that I didn't try to help."

C.C. met his eyes with a look of remorse that told him she had quickly changed her mind. Taking the hint, he silently walked over to her and opened his arms for her once more.

"This time, rest your hurt wrist on my shoulder," Niles told her as he began to carefully lift her from the wheelchair.

She did as he requested, grimacing from the pain of lifting her arm at first but relaxing in this new position once she was comfortable in his arms.

"I've got you," he whispered comfortingly.

C.C. closed her eyes as the richness of his voice soothed her yet made her heart quicken. She had had dreams of being held tightly in his arms as he whispered sweetly to her, but she never imagined that her dream would come true this way. She shivered as he gently laid her down on the bed - another aspect of her dream that had gone awry…

"What's wrong?" C.C. asked, drawing herself out of her reverie as she noticed the flustered look upon Niles' face.

"I forgot that you'll need something to sleep in," he replied with a sigh. "I'll have to go back to your penthouse and get you some clothes."

"Are you crazy?" she asked, her eyes widening. "It's too late for that, and I'm too tired. You can go in the morning."

"Well, you obviously can't wear Mrs. Sheffield's clothes," Niles chuckled.

C.C. frowned and opened her mouth to argue against his apparent insult of her weight, but he shook his head and quickly cut her off.

"I just meant that you would be uncomfortable in her revealing clothes," he explained. "You can wear one of my shirts, I suppose. You're used to wearing men's clothes anyway, right?" he asked with a smirk.

"Very funny." C.C. retorted, rolling her eyes "Anyone could fit into one of your oversized shirts. But I guess this is our only option."

He silently walked over to his wardrobe and extracted a white dress shirt, suddenly hearing a light chuckle. Turning around to face C.C., one eyebrow raised in question, he saw that she had one hand pressed to her lips in a desperate attempt to stifle the laughter that was shaking her body.

"What's so funny?" he asked, while tossing the shirt to her.

"Don't you remember? You wore that shirt when I walked in on you during your little dance. Where are the feather duster and your boxers, Bellboy?" she teased, still desperately trying to regain her composure.

"They're both closer than you wish, Babs," Niles replied and gave her his best boyish grin. "Of course I remember. It was a rather embarrassing moment for me," he continued with a smirk, upon seeing her shocked expression to his previous comment. "I only thought you had forgotten about it."

"Why would I forget, Niles?" she asked, and the question hung in the air between them for quite some time.

He finally cleared his throat in an attempt to overcome the awkwardness.

"Well, I better do something useful… You must be tired… I should…"

He could've kicked himself for stuttering like a fool, but he couldn't help it. He just made it through the door before he heard her frustrated cry. Turning around on his heels, he walked back inside the room.

"You're not hurt, are you?"

"No…" she said, letting a sigh escape her lips. "But I can't open the buttons with my right hand in a cast."

It took him a moment to realise that she was talking about her blouse, and when he did, he turned three shades of red.

"Why don't you do it with your left hand?" he suggested, still frozen near the door.

"I can't reach the first button with it…" she grumbled "Can't you do it for me?"

Niles stared at his shoes until he trusted himself to look at her again.

"I don't think that would be appropriate, Miss Babcock," he muttered.

"Well, I don't think so either, but I am stuck in this position thanks to you, so just help me so that I can go to bed," she snapped at him.

She wasn't entirely sure where the anger was coming from. It was a mixture of her helplessness and the increasing desire to feel his hands on her skin again. But every time he refused, even though it was done very politely, she felt that he didn't want to touch her, and that hurt her more than she cared to admit.

"Just do the first one. I can do the rest," she breathed quietly. "Then you can sit behind me so that you don't have to look… I'll only need your help to remove the blouse completely afterwards, if that's not too much to ask."

His eyes widened when he noticed the possible motives that were underlying her strange behavior but decided that this was not the moment to discuss them.

"Of course, Miss Babcock," he said and swiftly undid the first button before sitting down behind her on the bed.

She slowly undid all the other buttons, all the while feeling his eyes upon her. She felt the heat rise inside her and so focused her thoughts instead on the task at hand. Why was it so difficult to do something with her left hand? She suddenly admired Niles for being able to write, cut, and well, do anything, with his left hand… She knew that it wasn't anything special; he would struggle if he had to do something with his right hand, but it had still always fascinated her.

"Are you done?" he asked quietly.

The feel of his breath brushing against her skin only served to increase the already fast beating of her heart.

C.C. nodded slowly, biting down hard on her lip to distract her from the growing sensations coursing through her body. She gasped slightly as his hands reached out and slid her blouse down off of her shoulders. Niles barely managed to refrain from releasing a moan as she sat before him in nothing but a lacy bra and black business pants. He held his breath as he carefully helped her put his shirt on her.

"Thank you," she whispered, beginning to painstakingly button the shirt with her left hand.

"You're welcome," he whispered back as he headed for the door. "I'm going to prepare the guest room for you. I'll only be next door for a few moments, so call for me if you need anything."

C.C. watched him leave, noting how careful he was to avoid looking at her as she dressed. She slowly removed her pants using only one hand and tossed them down to the bottom of the bed. With a labored sigh, she lay down upon the bed and buried her face into his pillow, closing her tired eyes and breathing in his warm, intoxicating scent. Endless thoughts and emotions raced through her mind as the combination of his smell around her and the memory of the feel of his hands on her bare shoulders sent a chill down her spine. Finally, she stopped fighting the sleepy tug upon her eyelids and allowed sleep to quickly consume her.

When Niles returned to his room after preparing the guest room for C.C., he was greeted with what he knew was the most beautiful image he had ever had the pleasure of seeing in his entire life. Joy swelled within his chest as he stood in the doorway and watched C.C. sleeping soundly in his bed, wearing his shirt. He tiptoed silently over to the bedside, hating to wake her but knowing that she could not sleep there all night. He smoothed her lovely blonde hair softly with his hand and resisted the urge to kiss the porcelain skin of her cheek.

"Wake up, Miss Babcock," Niles whispered, shaking her uninjured arm gently.

C.C. groaned lightly and sighed sleepily but did not open her eyes.

"I'm going to take you to the guest room," he said as he leaned over her.

"I want to stay here," she mumbled, not yet fully awake.

Niles could not fight the smile that blossomed on his lips upon hearing her words.

"You'll be more comfortable in the guest room," he urged, not actually certain if this were true but still needing a means to convince her. "I'm going to pick you up now," he warned.

He lifted her into his arms yet again, and her eyes fluttered open slowly as he carried her out of his bedroom and into the next.

"There you are," he said, placing her down upon the guest bed.

C.C. groaned again, this time with a small, contented smile upon her face. Niles was careful as he placed the covers over her so as not to hurt her broken wrist or ankle. She fell back into deep sleep before he had even made it back to the door. He stopped and turned to look at her sleeping figure before heading back to his own room, the smile returning to his lips.

Niles could already tell that these next few days would definitely be ones he would always remember…

To Be Continued