Hello, Hello!:) Here's chapter 3 from a very tired writer. lol I seriously cannot wait for Christmas break, things are just too much at the moment. To balance out the everyday stress I'm writing more and more stuff, so hopefully you'll appreciate that!lol I have a little Niles/CC Christmas surprise planned for you too ;) but you won't be able to read it till 24th December, which is when we celebrate Christmas in Germany!:) I've also started working on a fansite dedicated to Lauren Lane, it's at a very early stage still, but I'll keep you posted in case anyone wants to check it out. Anyways, Miss Babcock and her Butler Boy are slowly getting closer. This'll have 10 chapters by the way, in case anyone was wondering!lol Drop me a line and make my life better, please!:)
Disclaimer: None of the characters are mine, only the lame storyline is!lol
Chapter 3:
Niles had never fled a scene as quickly as he did that night. He had nearly stumbled over his own feet and crashed into the nurse on his way out. It was all horribly clichéd and could've been featured in a Charlie Chaplin movie, but Niles couldn't see the humour in the situation. This new C.C. was unnerving, on a completely different level to the old one. He spent the cab ride home in denial, sometimes shaking his head as if that would erase the words she had uttered. But finally when he arrived back at the house and the tiredness overwhelmed him he stopped struggling and acknowledged that she had spoken the truth. He did know more about her than even he had realised, had observed more detail than was expected of a sworn nemesis. She was annoying and far too blunt sometimes, but she was also vulnerable and strong and passionate. His fingernails dug into his scalp as he desperately tried to fathom when he had stopped hating her and had started to admire her. He even began to question if he had ever hated her at all. He had been on the verge of quitting many times in his career but had always swallowed his anger for the sake of the children. But what if, subconsciously, he had also decided to stay because of her? She had always been a part of his life, his sparring partner; would he have really been happy without her? No, he was taking this too far, dismantling his entire life and everything he knew with it. This had to stop. C.C.'s soft side was only temporal; afterwards she would go back to being the cold-hearted Bitch of Broadway everyone was accustomed to.
The next morning when Niles woke up he could still feel the after-effects of the events from the previous day like a bad hangover. His head ached and his muscles were straining as he forced himself to get out of bed to prepare breakfast for the entire family. He hadn't got much sleep that day and with another visit to the hospital looming ahead of him, he doubted that he'd sleep well in the following nights. He had just finished cooking and filling the food into dishes as to keep them warm, when Maxwell walked into the kitchen.
"You're up early today, Sir." Niles said, looking up briefly, before resuming washing the frying pan.
"I had a conversation last night with Miss Fine that kept me awake for quite some time."
"Yes, you must be feeling terribly guilty about taking back "the thing"."
Maxwell opened his mouth to reply, defensively crossing his arms in front of his chest, but suddenly he snapped it shut and began to smile instead.
"What?" Niles asked innocently.
"Nice try, but I'm not telling you what "the thing" is. Besides, that's not what Miss Fine and I were discussing. I'm worried about C.C., somehow not knowing what happened that night at the theatre makes me feel queasy."
"I spoke to Nurse Anna and she suggested that Miss Babcock could stay here for a while. She doesn't remember anyone in her building or her way around the city." Niles said, trying to sound disinterested but for once the Broadway producer picked up on it.
"Can it be that you care about her?"
"No, only following the nurse's instructions." Niles muttered, taking off his rubber gloves and throwing them into the sink.
"You and C.C. have been awfully close since this happened." Max pressed, grinning smugly.
"Well, unfortunately I am the only person the witch remembers, so there's nothing I can do." Niles replied, shrugging and headed out of the kitchen door and into the dining room.
"You can't fool me!" Maxwell gloated, sitting down at the head of the table.
"Please, the amount of time I've smoked one of your cigars without you knowing..." Niles muttered under his breath but stopped abruptly when his employer said in a clipped voice: "I heard that."
"Here's your morning paper, Sir, let me get your tea." Niles immediately replied in honeyed tones and busied himself serving breakfast.
When he headed to the hospital this time he was well prepared. Knowing that he was unable to face C.C. alone he had persuaded Fran to come along. To his surprise the brunette had immediately agreed and mumbled something about needing to get out of the house.
"Oh there you are, Mr. Brightmore." Nurse Anna greeted them once they had set foot in the corridor C.C.'s room was situated at.
"How's Miss Babcock?" Fran asked and Niles breathed a sigh of relief for not having to be the one to do it.
"She was in a bit of a mood today, I think it's because you didn't show up." The nurse commented, her eyes twinkling.
Niles swallowed and avoided looking at anyone directly.
"Well, I have a job to do, it's not like she's my responsibility." he finally said when he trusted his voice not to betray his emotions anymore.
"We have good news too," Fran said smiling "Miss Babcock can come live with us until she's fully recovered."
Suddenly they heard an almighty crash coming from room 414 and Niles extracted himself to check on C.C.
"He is staying in that house too, isn't he?" nurse Anna asked Fran.
"Yes, he's the butler."
"I'm sure that'll cheer Miss Babcock up." The nurse then whispered comradely.
Niles, in the meantime, had entered C.C.'s room and found her kneeling on the bed, one hand outstretched trying to retrieve a book that she had evidently dropped.
"Shit, you stupid little-" she was cursing and Niles couldn't help but chuckle.
He easily strode over and picked up the book for her.
"Thank you, Mr. Brightmore." she said, blushing.
He quietly held her gaze for a while, noting that C.C. blushing was certainly new. Although, come to think of it she had always responded uncharacteristically shy and embarrassed when a man had complimented her. It just felt so odd because it had never been him.
"I would've reached it myself, but I still get dizzy sometimes when crouching down." she explained.
"I have spoken to my employer," Niles said, trying to sound neutral "and he thinks it's best for you if you live in the house for a while with the people you're used to."
"Good, can we leave tonight?"
"I don't think that'd be wise. Your head might still be needed to be examined and I've had no time yet to prepare a guest room for you."
"Oh," C.C. said disappointed, slowly catching on to his formal tone "it's going to be more work for you, isn't it, with me living there also?"
"It's my job," he said shrugging and was glad to find Fran and the nurse standing by the door, for he couldn't stand the hurt in C.C.'s eyes "and here's Miss Fine. I thought you might want to talk to a woman once in a while."
And without giving her a chance to respond, he exited the room.
"Mr. Brightmore," Nurse Anna said, catching up with him by the coffee machine "I'm sure there's a reason for your behaviour but from a medical point of you I wouldn't recommend treating Miss Babcock this way. She needs to have someone she can rely on and because you've found her, she's naturally chosen you. Just think about that."
He tentatively sipped on his coffee and watched her as she walked away, feeling guilty because he hadn't considered this issue at all.
The next morning he prepared a room for C.C. and drove to her penthouse to fetch items of clothing and toiletries she might be needing. It was a task he didn't mind until he reached her underwear drawer. Still confused by the recent events and the mixed feelings he had been experiencing, he merely stuck his hand inside, grabbed a couple of things and dropped them in the bag without looking once. But despite his best efforts he couldn't block out the feeling of lace and satin brushing over his skin. And so it was no surprise that when he had finished he was breathing heavily. Maybe it would've been smarter to actually look because this way his imagination was painting outrageous fantasies. By the time he made it back to the house Fran and Maxwell were already home, having picked up C.C. from the hospital. He simply gave them a brief nod and hurried upstairs to leave the bag in the guest room.
In the meantime C.C. found herself on the couch with the big-haired nanny.
"It's very nice of you to let me stay here." she said "But is your husband always working that much?"
Maxwell Sheffield had disappeared after they had set foot in the house.
"Husband?" Fran repeated, letting out her honking laugh before sighing deeply "Mr. Sheffield isn't my husband and he's working a lot usually, but at the moment he's just trying to get away from me."
"Really? Now that's unexpected." C.C. commented and Fran's eyes widened.
"Why? What have you heard?"
"Nothing," C.C. replied a bit perplexed "but I thought it was obvious from the way you two were looking at each other that you were in love..."
"I had hoped that too...but then Paris happened and "the thing" happened and oy...I can't even believe I am discussing this with you."
"Why wouldn't you?"
"Because you're always-" Fran began but then stopped abruptly.
"I'm always what?" C.C. asked quietly.
"Nothing, nothing...you just have a crush on him so this is a bit unusual." Fran explained, gesturing between them.
"I had a crush on him?" C.C. questioned and it was only because Fran was so worried about the situation that she didn't pick up on the implied meaning.
It was late at night and everyone had already gone to bed when Niles made his final round through the house. Switching off the light in the kitchen, where he had been hiding most of the day, he was surprised to hear the TV in the living room. He crossed through the dining room and smiled to himself when he saw C.C. curled up on the couch, snuggled up in a blanket.
"Are you warm enough?" he asked gently.
She lifted her head to look in his direction and her sky-blue eyes melted into a smile.
"Yes," she replied.
"Can I get you a cup of tea?" he offered, carefully approaching as if it was dangerous to get too close.
"No, but you could come and sit with me for a while. I haven't seen you all day."
"My job and the kids keep me very busy." Niles argued but instantly felt bad because she could clearly see he was lying.
C.C. bridged the silence by reaching for the remote and switching off the TV, before scooting over to make room for him.
"Is it true that I had a thing for Maxwell?" she finally asked, closely observing Niles' reaction.
"Who told you?"
"Miss Fine...I mean...Fran did, earlier on today."
He looked a bit annoyed before his face smoothed into a neutral mask again.
"Yes, you have been pining over Mr. Sheffield for quite some time."
"I really am struggling to believe that because right now I have no feelings for him whatsoever."
"Well, he is like a complete stranger to you now, maybe that's why." Niles suggested but she looked unconvinced.
"Perhaps, though I don't feel...nothing...towards everyone." she quietly said, frowning.
Silence ensued once more as C.C. was mentally debating the issue until she suddenly winced in pain.
"Is your head bothering you?" Niles immediately asked, moving his hand to touch her face without hesitation "Maybe you should get some sleep."
"I'm not tired," she replied, resting her hand on top of his "so would you mind telling me a bit more about myself? Are my parents still alive?"
"Yes, they are. Though I don't know much about them. You have a sister and a brother too, I'm sure they'll come to visit you soon. The relationship with your mother isn't particularly good, that's all I can tell you and your father...well, I think you adore him and you want him to be proud of you, but it's not that easy..." He began to speak and slowly removed his hand from her cheek. "He came to visit you here one day, about two years ago and you were trying your best to impress him but then he took more of an interest in Miss Fine and...I think that really upset you. Everyone noticed that you were jealous and scared that he didn't love you..."
"How did it end?"
"Oh, quite well, Miss Fine helped you out, she has a good heart."
"I wish I could remember," C.C. sighed.
"Sometimes it's good not to remember certain things."
"But there are other things I wish I could, Niles, like us...I wish I'd be able to understand us..."
His heart stopped before it achingly accelerated in speed at the longing he saw in C.C.'s eyes.
"I wish I could too." he softly agreed.
