Hello Hello my fellow readers and writers! So excited to share this chapter with you and I will again take the time to specifically thank writerlikejo, rx9872, ladybrin, Lucky Starz, lynnylou31 for reviewing chapter 2! Reviews keep me writing. Anyways, I hope you all enjoy this chapter.

Niles stood at the door with slight worry etched on his face as he processed the words he had taken in from the phone conversation C.C. Babcock had seconds earlier. He wondered, first and foremost, why she would be seeing a doctor and secondly, why would she use a fake name? What was wrong with her and why would she feel the need to hide it? Niles always knew that C.C. wasn't the type of person that dumped her problems on the world, but honestly, if something was horribly wrong with her, she deserved to have someone to support her through the ordeal.

He thought for a moment about asking her flat out, but he knew it would be a long shot, for if she were trying to keep something from someone, she certainly wouldn't confide in him of all people. As true as this was, his worry for her pushed him to try and get information out of her anyway.

He briskly walked through the door and was immediately greeted by a deathly stare from Babcock.

"What do you want?"

He was used to coming up with excuses to see her in the office and was quick to come up with a response.

"Oh just dusting a few things here and there. Oh, and of course, the couch needs to be polished."

"Couldn't you have done that earlier? Like when I was at lunch?"

"Well to avoid seeing your mug, I would have, but unfortunately I was slaving away at Brighton's shower scum and could not attend to it earlier."

"I wondered why the stench of Comet was so much more potent than usual!"

"I didn't notice with the stench of your decaying youth permeating throughout the room!"

"This coming from a man who catered at Lincoln's inauguration. Now as much as I am enjoying this conversation, I must get back to reading this scripts."

As worried as he was about her for calling a doctor, he couldn't help but grin at her insult and fiery personality. She was such a hellion and, quite frankly, he loved it.

C.C. pushed her black rimmed glasses up her nose and continued to read over the script…or attempt to read over the script for she was extremely distracted by the presence of this rotten excuse for a man.

Niles continued to pretend he was dusting and stole numerous glances at C.C. He immediately knew she was distracted and wondered if it was because of her doctor's appointment.

He gathered his composure while pondering whether or not a more direct approach to get the truth out of her would work. He decided to give it a try.

"Miss Babcock?"

"What do you want now?"

"Is something wrong?"

"What gave you that impression, Butler boy?"

He debated on whether or not to tell her about the phone conversation he overheard her having. Deciding it was the only way he could explain his sudden intuition, he told her.

"Well, I guess I left the intercom on by accident and I heard you say something about going to the doctor…"

"Leave it to the yenta butler to listen in on my private conversations."

"Miss Babcock, I'm serious, really, is everything all right?"

Is it true? Butler boy is actually concerned about my health? No it couldn't be. I'm sure he just wants to know because it kills him not to know everybody's business in the entire house.

She looked into his eyes with these thoughts in her mind while attempting to uncover his intentions. A spark flew between them and she wondered for a minute if he really was indeed worried about her. As quick the spark flew, however, the two of them broke their glances from one another, both slightly flustered at prolonged eye contact.

Having a hard time looking back up at him, C.C. peered downward at the script in front of her before speaking.

"Everything is fine, Niles, just a regular physical. Now if you don't mind, I must get back to work."

Niles took one last look at the breathtakingly beautiful woman sitting at the desk in front of him. He just had a feeling in his gut that something was wrong but knew for now that there was no way he would get it out of her. After all, who confides in their arch nemesis?

He made one last remark before leaving the room.

"Miss Babcock, if something more is wrong, people deserve to know. Please, don't hesitate to tell me if there is more to the story."

C.C. slowly looked up at him as he exited the room. A feeling she could not identify flowed through her body as she took in his words. As much as it pained her to admit it, he was the only person who could change the state of her mind so abruptly. One minute, she could wring his neck for his insolence, the next minute she could kiss him for his kindness. The help made her crazy and, damn, she hated him for it.

But as much as she tried to convince herself that she was utterly repulsed by this man who frequently smelled of cleaning products, the warm feeling flowing through her body at the expression of his kindness and worry told her otherwise.

Needless to say, she got little work done the rest of the day as countless thoughts flowed through her mind. Other than that quick trip to Switzerland she made 6 years ago to get her thighs worked on, C.C. had never gotten any plastic surgery done before and never even thought about letting them touch her face. Although it was just a consultation that she had scheduled for next week, she couldn't help but feel anxious at the thought of it. The possibilities were endless. What if they said she was beyond repair? What if they performed the surgery and messed up her entire face?

Second thoughts about the entire thing were pouring through her mind. Not to mention, her society "friends" and the help wouldn't let her live this down if they found out.

It was getting late at this point and C.C. wondered why Maxwell was nowhere to be found, once again. Surely, he was at the theatre and not with Nanny Fine. But as much as she wanted to believe this, she figured otherwise.

She stood up and gathered up the pile of scripts that she had barely made a dent in. Maybe it would be easier to read them with out the distraction of the butler. She placed her glasses into her purse and strolled out of the office.

A wave of tiredness hit her suddenly and she decided to get a coffee for the road from the kitchen. Niles was in there, cooking dinner, as C.C. entered the room.

"Babs, what brings you in here this time of night?"

"Coffee, Hazel! I need a pick me up."

"I would, but I don't think I could lift you!"

"Can it would you and make me a pot!"

"Miss Babcock, again, you fail to notice that I am in the middle of something!"

"Oh please, I just saw you put that chicken in the oven, so unless you need to stare at the oven while it cooks, you could spare a few minutes to make me a pot of coffee."

"I keep forgetting that you don't know how to work a coffee pot."

"Can it Rubber Maid. And if you must know, I own one!"

"Oh well then, you certainly do not need me to make you a pot if you're such an independent woman and all."

"Oh no, don't you try and worm your way out of this one, Niles."

Just then, Maxwell, walked into the kitchen.

"Honestly, I come home and the first thing I hear is you two bickering in the kitchen. C.C. I thought you would have left by now."

"I was just getting a cup of coffee for the road, but Niles was refusing to do his job."

"Oh sir, she doesn't understand that I have to cook dinner to put on the table for the family."

"Honestly, you two. You're worse than the children! Niles, make Miss Babcock a cup of coffee and please manage to behave like adults when I leave the room."

With that, he briskly left the kitchen. C.C. and Niles simultaneously rolled their eyes at him before Niles proceeded to the coffee pot.

C.C. sat down at the table with one hand on her cheek, propping her head up. Her eyes bore into the wall as the thoughts she had earlier crept back into her mind.

Niles was sure that she was thinking hard about something, for he stared at her frequently when she was in deep thought.

Suddenly having the urge to be closer to her, he sat down in the chair next to her, while taking in the scent of her perfume.

C.C. was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't initially notice his presence. That is, until his unique scent tickled her nostrils and she immediately turned to face him.

The tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife as the two sets of blue irises bore into one another. Niles could feel his heart start to pump faster as he admired her soft blue eyes.

C.C. was the first to break the eye contact once again. Her eyes darted from his, down to the floor and stopped on the wooden table. Her heart was beating wildly at this point and she wondered now, if she even needed the coffee anymore. She put both hands on her cheeks to cover up how flushed she was by his presence.

He couldn't get over how her shoulder length blonde hair framed her face and he had to fight the desire that he had to run his fingers through it this very moment.

He was thankful for the sound of the coffee pot signaling it was ready and rushed over to pour her some in a capped coffee cup.

"Half and half, Miss Babcock", he stumbled on his words.

"Um…yes", she managed to muster.

He shakily handed her the cup of coffee before she quickly gathered up the scripts once more and walked out of the kitchen to the front door. She was on the way out, when she realized she didn't have her coat.

At this point Niles had gathered his composure somewhat and had followed her into the living room. He quickly grabbed her coat and helped her put it on before resting his hands on her shoulders. They lingered like this for longer than necessary before abruptly breaking apart from one another.

He managed to fluster her once again as she imagined his strong hands that had been on her shoulders just seconds earlier. But as quickly as her want and desire for his touch had heightened it was gone for the last thing he said to her was an insult.

"We wouldn't want you to become brittle from the cold. You fit so well with the heirlooms in the office."

She didn't even look at him as she briskly walked out the door and slammed it behind her.

Niles immediately felt guilty as he realized most of his insults the last few days had come at the expense of her age. For the first time, he wondered if maybe his remarks were hurting her in some way. Clearly, the way she slammed the door just now might have been an indication.

He decided to run out the door and see if he could catch her and apologize. As he went out there, however, he was greeted by the sound of her screeching tires as she sped off.

C.C. drove the rest of the way home with his words eating at her. She promised herself, however, that she wouldn't cry at his expense tonight. Why does he do this to me? I really do hate him!

She continued her drive home and made it there with good timing. She took the elevator up to her penthouse, pulled the key out of her purse and opened the door. She immediately locked it behind her before dropping her purse on the counter and heading to the master bathroom.

Grabbing her makeup remover and a cloth, she wiped off her eye and facial makeup before taking another look at her face in the mirror. Again, she noticed every little fine line on her face.

She could no longer keep the promise she made to herself as tears streamed down her face. It wasn't just a few tears either. C.C. cried buckets that night, keeping a box of tissues next to her as she crawled into bed.

As much as she cried and questioned her worthiness, one thing was clear to her as she drifted off to sleep. She planned on going to that consultation and she had every intention of looking youthful once again.

I will look damn good and that rotten excuse for a man will eat every word he said to me.

Little did she know that fate had a way turning one's life completely upside down.