Chapter 2:
"Miss Babcock, are you alright?" Niles asked upon hearing the blonde's sharp intake of breath.
When she failed to respond, however, and the telephone began to shake dangerously in her hand, he hurried to her side and protectively wrapped an arm around her.
"Thank you for informing me, Dr. Russel." C.C. managed before hanging up.
"What happened?" Niles asked worriedly, soothingly rubbing her back.
"I'm pregnant, that bastard got me pregnant." She whispered and her knees buckled.
"Let's get you back to bed," Niles said calmly, holding her upright while guiding her up the stairs.
Neither of them said another word until they had reached the guestroom C.C. was staying in and Niles had helped her into bed.
"I think you'd better go now." She said when he was still busy drawing up the blanket and ensuring that she was comfortable. Her voice sounded distant and her eyes were cool.
"Alright," he finally agreed "but call me if you need anything."
He didn't get a response, however, and C.C. didn't even seem to have heard him and so he quietly exited the room. She couldn't just lay here, she needed to move or something. She slipped out from under the covers slowly, keeping them the way Niles had left them, and eyed the bathroom that was connected to the guest room. A shower seemed fantastic right about now.
She stripped from her robe and pajamas and got into the shower, letting the warm water slide down her body. She had her wrist resting on the wall and her forehead was leaning against it. She couldn't believe it, she was actually pregnant, by some low life street trash. She took a deep breath and held it for a minute, trying to regain herself. She didn't know what emotion she was supposed to feel. She was feeling so many at one time, she could barely keep up. She was feeling rage for the man who'd done this to her, she felt sadness because this meant that no man would probably ever want her, and she felt anger at herself for walking when she could have just waited for a cab. Though through all that, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of happiness. She was going to have a baby, something she'd always wanted since she had been a little girl.
She picked up the soap and began to clean herself. She rubbed the bar over her flat belly gently, trying to imagine what it was going to be like in four months time. She would no longer be the small size she was, but she'd have a baby bump that would show to everyone what had happened to her, it was both bad and good, she just couldn't decide which one to choose at the moment.
Though of course, there was always that other option, the most dreaded one that was like murder to her, abortion. The very thought of the word made her sick. She knew that if she went through with one, she would more than likely never be able to have children, seeing as she was already in her thirties and the horror stories she had heard from what happened to women after they had one of those horrid things...she just couldn't imagine herself doing that, no matter how mean and hateful she could be. No, she was keeping the baby, no matter what.
She sighed as she tried to imagine what the baby was going to look like. She closed her eyes for a moment and tried to remember the man's face. She tried to remember his hair color, his skin tone, anything, but all she could remember were his eyes. They had been a shade of green she hadn't seen before, smoky green. The more she thought about the man, the angrier she got. Her eyes snapped open and she switched the shower off angrily and she hopped out of the shower. She grabbed a towel from the rack and wrapped it around herself. She brushed her hair out quickly and slammed the brush down on the counter. How could this have happened to her? Better yet, how was she going to explain it to her family?
That thought hadn't even occurred to her until now. Society wouldn't think anything of it, but she knew her father would, and she dreaded what her mother would think, even though it was not her fault. When she walked back into the bedroom, she saw her suitcase sitting in the corner. She unzipped it and tried to find clothes. She found some of her typical black attire and put them on before she lay back down on the bed again. She placed her hands behind her head and took in a deep breath, it was still hard to process that she was going to be a mother. She hadn't been able to keep any of her pets alive, except her horse, when she was younger, how the hell was she going to keep a person? And by herself? No man was going to want a woman who was unclean, common street filth had impregnated her, what ridicule she would receive!
The light knocking at the door made her jump. "Who is it?" She asked.
"It's Niles, I was just wondering if you wanted to come and eat lunch." She looked over at the digital clock and saw that it was indeed past noon. She raised her eyebrows and then let them fall again. She got out of the bed and walked over to the door, opening it quietly.
"I'd like to, but I don't know how long I could hold it down." She confessed.
"You need to eat something, you've barely eaten anything since you've been here, and that baby will need food Miss Babcock." He pointed out, he was absolutely right.
"Alright Niles, but only because you forced me to." She said as she left her room and walked ahead of him.
"Oh yes, so forceful I am." He rolled his eyes and smiled to himself.
As he followed her down the stairs and into the dining room where he had set up dinner, he couldn't help but admire her strength. Apart from the bruises on her body it was difficult to detect anything of the horror she had experienced. Instead she carried herself with the same confidence and strength as ever. But Niles wasn't a fool, he knew that her façade would crumble eventually, overpowered by the sheer intensity of the past events. He just hoped that when it did happen, she would allow someone to be there for her, allow him to be there for her.
"I can feel your eyes on me, Dust Buster, and it's making me nervous." C.C. growled and he chuckled.
Instantly several good comebacks shot through his head but they all died on his tongue before any of them could be uttered out loud. He couldn't throw a zinger at her now, not in the condition she was in, it simply didn't feel right. As if having read his thoughts, C.C. abruptly stopped on the stairs and turned around to look at him.
"Nothing? You have nothing to say to that?" she questioned, arching an eyebrow.
"Miss Babcock, given the…situation…I didn't think it appropriate to-" he tried formally but she was glaring at him angrily.
She had reached him with two strides and roughly grabbed him by the lapels of his jacket.
" "My situation".", she mocked, her face so close to his that he could see the angry fire blazing within her eyes "don't just beat about the bush. Why don't you just say it? You never hold back when it comes to me, so why start now? Why don't you just say out loud that I got fucked my some scum on the street and now I have to care for his child!"
"C.C.," his voice was gentle and her eyes widened ever so slightly upon hearing him use her first name.
Slowly, carefully his arms snaked around her body until they were firmly holding her and preventing her legs from buckling under her again. She was speechless for a moment because never before had she seen such deep sorrow in his eyes, not even the night Sara had died.
"I don't want your pity, Niles," she tried to snap at him, but the quivering of her lip and the tears that were pooling in her eyes gave her away "I want you to be honest with me, fight me… just don't change anymore…"
As her voice drifted off he finally realized what she was really trying to say. That he was the only stable thing in her life and with everything else that had happened she needed someone to rely on. And apparently, which had come as a shock to her as well, she had chosen him.
"Alright," he simply said, but it was a promise.
She didn't loosen her hold on him for another couple of minutes, but instead tried to calm her ragged breathing. Finally and with great effort she let go and turned around.
"Let's have something to eat then."