Hello, Hello. Yay I managed another update on time! lol Thanks for the reviews, I love them! :) On with the story..

Chapter 6:

C.C. was quite surprised to find that she and Kathy were rapidly becoming friends; although "friends" was a little too much, bar acquaintances perhaps. Claire, on the other hand, didn't find the development all too surprising. While C.C. acted according to the rules of her social circle and wouldn't have been caught dead talking to someone like Kathy, Claire chose to focus on the things they had in common, a love for a good pint and the desire for freedom.

"Just listen to me, I sound as if I'm going insane." She muttered to herself.

Tom made a noise between a chuckle and a snort that made her look up and aware again of her surroundings. "You look a little insane, too, sitting there…muttering to yourself."

"Shut up," she grinned at him and sipped at her beer "I was just thinking and comparing Claire to my working self and then I realised that it sounds as if I have multiple personality disorder."

"Perhaps you do," Tom quipped and grinned but when seeing her glare hastily amended "No, of course not. I've seen this behaviour a lot in women such as yourself."

"What kind of woman am I?" C.C. asked, unable to stop herself from chuckling amused.

"You know what I mean," he leaned in, speaking suddenly in hushed tones "society women. You're all groomed in a certain way, all raised to be perfect, to find a husband, to become a proper housewife." He stopped and shrugged. "You told me your story, Claire and I've heard it several times before. That training, that drill you receive as a child doesn't work for all of you. There will always be exceptions to the rule, women who are different, who don't want those goals to be their own, who don't view a family as their greatest achievement. And then it starts…the struggle. You start fighting for your rights, for your freedom to have a career instead of just a husband and some of you succeed. But others," he sighed deeply "others may not. The rules might have been too firmly established in their heads. And then two things can happen, sweetheart," he paused again, this time to gently cradle her hand in his "either you run away from your true self and live the life that makes you unhappy but that you can't escape from or…you do what you've done, you find a way of letting that other side of you breathe. But it's a difficult balancing act, that's for sure."

C.C. swallowed and suddenly found herself unable to meet his eyes again. "But I'm different still," she said eventually "I fought to have a career and I am a career woman…I've achieved that. Then why am I still coming here? Why do I need to be Claire?"

"Because perhaps even though you have achieved your goal, you're still surrounded by people of your own class on a daily basis? By people who can throw around with money? And then there's always Maxwell, reminding you of your other needs as well that haven't been met yet. And that's enough to make you flee." He shrugged and smiled a little at her. "It's normal."

C.C. sighed, gulped down her beer and then pushed her empty glass towards him. Tom nodded wordlessly and went to refill it and she noticed a sadness about him that hadn't been there before.

"Are you ok?" she raised an eyebrow and accepted the fresh pint with a nod.

"Yes," he smiled in return, but it paled in comparison to his regular smiles.

"You sure seem to know a lot about this "Upper Class Business" and the way it can affect women," she hedged, sipping on her drink.

"Subtlety is not your forte, Claire," he chuckled and leaned against the counter "but yes, to answer your question, I know a lot about it from personal experience."

"If you tell me now that you used to be a society woman I'm going to snort beer all over your counter." She commented and was relieved to find that he broke into honest laughter.

"Yes, you got me, that's who I really am." He replied dryly once he had stopped laughing, whipping his ponytail back dramatically. "But no…I uh…" he grew more hesitant again "let's just say I knew a woman once who didn't manage what you're doing. Who ended up losing and who decided against freedom and went back to the social surroundings she'd grown up with."

"So you just knew her briefly or you…knew her," she studied him carefully.

"If you have to ask like that you probably already know the answer." He replied, in a slightly colder tone than she was used C.C. wasn't taken aback by it and just sipped on her beer. "We weren't a couple," he eventually continued "but there was a certain spark between us. We were lovers at best, I guess…" and he trailed off again.

C.C. nodded and reached across the counter to take his hand. It was obvious to her that he'd been more invested than he let on. And with her recent rejection still fresh in mind, she felt a brief ache in her heart that caused her to be more compassionate than she would've normally been.

"What's going on here then?" Kathy interrupted the moment and took her usual seat next to C.C. "You two have been holding hands a lot lately. Did I miss something?"

C.C. chuckled and gave Tom's hand a final re-assuring squeeze and then leaned back. "Yes, you're on to us now, Kathy." She replied dryly.

"Just checking," she chuckled "it's about time that he found himself a lady."

"I think that's already happened," C.C. commented quietly when Tom had distanced himself a bit.

"Oh gossip?" Kathy asked excitedly and scooted closer.

"Sort of," C.C. nodded, watching Tom's retreating form hesitantly "I don't know enough to share."

"Well, if you know more." Kathy grinned and nudged her confidentially and then, looking up again, let out a gasp of delight. "You made it here early!"

C.C., knowing that only the guy she'd been seeing could evoke such a response, turned to look but broke into a frown when she saw that Kathy had her arms wrapped around the pesky butler. He seemed relaxed and kissed her friend lightly, before pulling his wallet out of his jeans pocket. Jeans. C.C. frowned and eyed him up and down.

"Don't think I've ever seen him wearing a pair."

As a matter of fact, Niles' whole appearance was completely different. Apart from the jeans, he was also wearing a casual shirt that had the top few buttons undone and a leather jacket. When he looked up again he spotted her too and for a split second his eyes widened in surprise as well.

"Seems I'm not the only one with a secret," she muttered to herself.

"Tom, we'll have two more pints!" Kathy called, who was in the meantime dragging Niles excitedly towards the counter "I'm so glad you two are here at the same time! Claire, this is my lover Niles, Niles this is my friend Claire."

"Lover Niles," C.C. snorted, her deep voice ringing with amusement "pleasure meeting you."

"Claire," he replied pointedly holding out his hand "the pleasure is all mine."

She shook his hand – perhaps a little bit firmer than necessary – and then took a sip from her beer.

"Niles always has to work so long and well, you sometimes get here very late when we're already gone or you aren't here at all. But you know…I've been telling you so much about him that I'm just so excited we finally get the chance to hang together."

"Yes, isn't that nice?" C.C. muttered, her tone suggesting quite the opposite.

"Yes, positively delightful." Niles agreed in the same way.

Kathy accepted the drinks from Tom and then turned to them, frowning. "Is everything alright? You two seem tense. Do you know each other?"

And to C.C.'s surprise, they both hurried to answer that question with a resounding "No."