(III)

The next afternoon was a nice one. The sun was bright and shone relentlessly through the begrudging clouds. By mid-afternoon, it had finally chased away all signs of the cottony billows and was beating down upon the shoulders of men, women, and children alike. The sky was an optimistic shade of blue that, no doubt, complimented the hue of C.C.'s eyes when she woke up that morning. Happily in love, Niles thought bitterly. He was thankful that at least someone else was as envious as he was about this situation. He sat in the kitchen with his best friend, Fran Fine, making lists of hypothetical situations that were comparable to Val and C.C. both dating.

"Okay, how about this one: you win the lottery, get struck by lightning, and you're invited to the White House by President Perot. " Niles looked at his spunky friend with hopeful eyes.

"Nope, nope. The odds of Val and Miss Babcock both having boyfriends is still higher."

Fran stirs some sugar into her mug of tea and renders that, perhaps, they should both be happy for the two women. This earned a prompt, disgruntled "Ah, screw 'em" from Niles, trailed by a mumbled "but who is?" from the nanny herself. The two friends assembled at the table. Fran, drinking her tea, and Niles, glooming with his arms crossed.

"You know, they're going on a double-date tonight. They asked me to join them, but –uh, I don't wanna be a fifth wheel."

Niles peered over at his friend. She was dressed in a black dress with vivid multi-colored circles covering it. She had a vibrant yellow headband in her hair and Niles secretly wondered if she could really, possibly be upset about anything in her life. She seemed so spontaneous and fiery. Her clothes always screamed of the effervescence that bubbled from her spirit. He opened his mouth and found himself convincing her that she should join the two couples.

"Remember – when a tire goes out on a car, they need that fifth wheel." Niles explained to her smartly.

Miss Fine pauses a moment, looking at Niles in befuddlement.

"What's that mean?"

"I don't know. I'm depressed about Miss Babcock. I've been in the brandy."

That evening, the two pairs of lovebirds were huddled around a booth in a homey Italian restaurant. A classic red and white checked cloth adorned the table and there were white candlesticks glowing all around them. Just as C.C. was looking over the wine list, Nanny Fine's own whine filled the air. She was really starting to hope that the yenta wouldn't show up. Regardless, they all made room for Fran on the booth with them.

C.C. was positively reeling over the stupidity that was emitted by Nanny Fine, Val, and her mate. From Fran's falling onto the floor to her poufy hair catching on fire to Val's all-too-common idiocy, the Bitch of Broadway was growing more and more uptight by the second. It wasn't until Chandler's hand came down to rest on her hip that she was pulled back into the more important situation at hand: her date. They had all just finished fanning out Nanny Fine's hair when he leaned into C.C. and crooned to her.

"I thought it was hot because I'm sitting next to you."

"Ohhh, stooooop." C.C. giggled furiously.

Chandler kissed her shoulder delicately and then moved up to plant a kiss on her cheek. C.C. looked into his hazel eyes that shone in the flickering candlelight and smiled at him. She reached a hand up to cup his face and their lips met. They kissed tenderly and C.C. found herself being leaned back slightly. His arms embraced her and stroked her back fondly. His lips left hers and began to trail along her jawbone, down her throat and kissed at her collarbone. C.C. gasped at his caresses and was completely detached from the surroundings of the restaurant, of the other couple, and of Nanny Fine. Chandler's hand cupped her face and their mouths met again.

Back at the mansion, the three men of the house were seated at the kitchen table playing cards. More specifically, neither of the older gentlemen was concentrating on the game, so they hardly noticed when Brighton continually cheated them out of winning. It had gotten to the point where Niles and Maxwell were so distracted by the women in their lives (or, more accurately, the woman that were absent from their lives) that they hadn't noticed when Brighton dealt them their cards only to immediately call "Gin" right after they'd picked them up. They threw in their hands and Maxwell sent his son off to bed. Brighton slipped them the piece of paper with the total of what they'd owe him in the morning and galloped upstairs, feeling quite proud of himself.

"He's a good card player." Niles stated, sipping his tea.

"Well, he learned it from me." Maxwell mentioned.

The two men bid each other goodnight and Niles began the climb to his lonesome bedroom, taking the mug of tea with him. He trekked up the stairs slowly, one at a time. He reached the door to his bedroom and turned the knob, pushing the door free from its closed position. The door squealed on its hinge and he made a note to oil the metal in the morning. As the darkened room was progressively revealed to him, his eyes absorbed his surroundings. He had only a few pictures littering the walls of his small room, none of his family or friends, but of beautiful landscapes. He had never been displeased with them until now.

Niles stepped into his room and looked at his modest furniture. He slept in Brighton's old bed. He kept his clothes in an old, creaky dresser that collected piles of books on top. His closet was pristinely organized, though it only contained his own masculine suits and slacks, no touch of a woman's dress.

He set the mug down on his side table and shrugged out of his robe. He lifted a book from his desk and crept into bed. He switched on the simple lamp on the side table and began to read, knowing quite well that he wouldn't be able to sleep. The book did its job in keeping his mind occupied and his thoughts Babcock-free. He sighed and, after flipping the page, leaned over to recover his mug. He drew the tea to his lips and swallowed down the steaming brew. His eyes continued to read on.

Chandler nipped at C.C.'s neck, prompting her to drop her keys in front of her door. She giggled lightly and bent to retrieve her key ring. Chandler's hands were running up and down her sides as she struggled to get her door unlocked. She could hardly breathe, let alone perform ordinary motor functions, due to the fact that this man's strong and sturdy chest was pressed against her back. His head was dipping down to kiss a path from her shoulder, along her throat, and to her earlobe, which he nibbled seductively.

C.C. finally succeeded in opening her door. She clutched onto the collar of Chandler's shirt and dragged him into the entrance of her flat. Her lips were on his in a heartbeat. Her fingers twisted into his dark hair as she bit his bottom lip. They moaned into each other's mouths as their tongues fought for dominance.

Chandler pushed the coat off C.C.'s shoulders and tossed it onto the sofa, where it landed with a light thud. He eyed her hungrily and ran his fingers through her soft hair to rid it of pins. He lobbed the ornaments over to the coffee table, where they hit the glass in loud clinks. His fingers threaded into her blonde locks and he kissed her ravenously.

"Where?" he asked her with a voice cracking from desire.

"This way."

C.C. gripped his hand and led him to her bedroom.

Meanwhile, Niles had drained his mug of tea and was replacing the bookmark within the pages of his hardback when his stomach growled. He set the book on his side table and threw on his robe to go downstairs for a snack. Two-thirds of the way down the stairs, he noticed that the kitchen light was on. He crept down the rest of the way and carefully peered his head around the wall - he didn't want to interrupt his boss loafing around with the nanny. He exhaled, seeing as it was only his best friend. He ascended into the kitchen and walked over to join her at the fridge.

"Good evening, Miss Fine. How was dinner?"

Fran looked at him and smacked him with the dove bar she had just extracted from the freezer. She peeled off the wrapper and stuck it into her mouth without answering him.

"I'm so sorry. Was it really that bad?" he looked at her with guilt-ridden blue eyes.

The brunette simply nodded her head. Niles sighed and pulled out a slice of cheesecake from the fridge. He grabbed a fork and wandered over to the table, motioning for the woman to join him.

"Come on, tell me about it."

So Fran sat with him, telling him every event of the evening. She licked the line of chocolate that dripped down her thumb and explained how her hair at caught on fire. Soon, her treat was gone and she was sucking on the wooden stick, begging for more sweets. She scooted her chair back to throw away the stick and continued talking about her awful experience. She noticed Niles cringe when she mentioned how C.C. and Chandler had been going at each other, sucking face and what-not.

"Miss Fine," he sighed. "I'm a complete mess. I don't know what to do without Miss Babcock here to amuse me. I'm wandering around aimlessly. I can't sleep."

He grumbled to himself for admitted that the witch kept him awake at night. He pushed his partially eaten cheesecake to Fran. This went as planned, for the woman was too busy stuffing her face and wallowing in her own problems to interrogate the butler. Niles stood and patted a hand on her shoulder.

"Well, it's getting late, Miss Fine. I'm going to head off to bed."

"G'night, Niles." She tells him with a mouthful of creamy dessert.

Niles trudged back up the stairs, more distraught than ever. The jealousy was soaring through his bloodstream like an angry sort of alcohol and he raked his hands through his hair in frustration. He tossed himself into bed, staying in whatever position he landed in, and hoped that sleep would find him. He almost wished that he'd stop dreaming of Miss Babcock. The temptation was driving him mad.