The Accident

Chapter 7

When C.C. awoke the next morning she felt only semi-conscious, because her head was still a little fuzzy. That was why she didn't quite believe her eyes when she found Niles lying next to her in bed. Carefully shifting, as not to wake him, she began to rub her temples, trying to remember what had happened the previous night. She was almost certain that he had sat in the chair by her bed side and that he had been holding her hand, she also knew that they had been talking, but about what exactly she just could not remember. She turned around to look at Niles who was still fast asleep. He was curled up at the far side of the bed as if to give her enough space, but at the same time his left arm was stretched out, reaching for her and his body was curved in such a way, that she would've easily fit into the space that was now occupied by a pillow. A tender smile washed over her features as she imagined he was hugging her to his chest. That was a moment in which C.C. hoped that the time would just stop running, it was perfect in its own way, without any complications or troubling thoughts. She carefully reached out to touch him with her uninjured hand, softly running her fingers through his hair. She knew that she was tempting fate, after all, he might wake up any moment, and yet she couldn't resist. To her surprise a smile spread across his face before his eyes sleepily fluttered open. She withdrew her hand immediately, still uncertain about the period of time from the previous night she had forgotten. When his eyes finally focused on her face, he practically bolted upright.

"Oh my God, Miss Babcock, I am so sorry, I must have fallen asleep. I was just feeling so tired, so I lay down for a couple of minutes, but… " he rambled on, brushing through his hair in a nervous gesture.

"Niles, it's not a problem," she tried to calm him, somewhat disappointed by his startled reaction. "I only just woke up myself, I would've only minded had you taken away too much space." and she smiled at him.

"Ah Babs, I'm not half as big as you are. I wouldn't need that much," he teased and winked at her to assure her that he was only kidding.

She tossed out her sultry laugh, completely missing again the effect this had on Niles, before saying: "Well, my butt clearly isn't as big as yours."

"So you've been paying particular attention to it, have you?" he retorted and she couldn't help but blush. "Anyway, I believe we have a date tonight… unless you weren't being serious?" he hesitantly asked.

C.C. rolled her eyes quickly in more of a flutter of her lashes.

"Of course I was being serious," she replied as she rolled to her back and stretched her body easily. "But what am I going to wear? If we're going out, I'd like to at least look presentable."

"I'll take care of that," Niles answered. "I can go get you something from your penthouse after breakfast."

"Okay, but it better be something nice," she said with a playful grin spreading on her lips. "I don't want to look trashy."

"Too late," he quipped with snarling a look of mock disgust.

She glared at him in silence for a moment before they both broke into ringing laughter.

"Would you like me to go ahead and start breakfast?" Niles asked as he sat up and swung his legs over the side of the bed as he slipped on his house shoes, his back now turned to her.

C.C. hadn't realized just how hungry she was until he mentioned breakfast. She felt her stomach grumble, as if in silent response to his question.

"Yes, please," she answered, reluctantly raising her head from the pillow so that she could sit up. "Can I come watch you in the kitchen?"

He stood and turned to her with a gentle smile. By now, he didn't think that she even needed to ask.

"Of course you can," he replied softly. "Is there anything I can get for you here before we go downstairs?"

C.C. carefully moved around so that she could get out of bed, pondering his question. Then a small grin appeared on her face as she said:

"Well, you could give me your robe. I'm a little cold."

When he turned around to face her the same pained look appeared on his face, before it was replaced by a polite smile.

"Of course," he simply said and inclined his head. "I'll fetch it for you."

She frowned, confused by his reaction, and slowly got to her feet, hobbling after him into his room. She found him clutching the robe to his chest as if it were his most prized possession.

"Niles, what's going on?" she asked, leaning against the doorframe.

He whirled around and quickly approached her, helping her into the robe before wrapping his arm around her.

"You should've waited for me," he scolded gently.

"And you should know better than to avoid my question, Bellboy. You know this could get ugly!" When he only smirked quietly but didn't reply, she added "Shouldn't I wear this?"

He weakly shook his head and muttered "Let it go, Babcock."

As they slowly walked down the corridor, C.C. kept looking at him, studying him for any signs that would tell her what was going on inside his head.

"You look like you've got toothache. Now tell me, Niles, or there won't be a date tonight!" she demanded.

When his eyes finally rested on her face, she knew that she had gone too far. Anger was clouding them, and a fire of rage seemed to be blazing.

"That goddamn robe makes me believe in a fantasy, okay? It makes me feel warm and optimistic, when in reality I might only be fooling myself. If you'll excuse me now, I have breakfast to prepare."

And with that he stalked away, leaving her to stand alone in the corridor. C.C., too dumbfounded to react in any way, simply stared after him as he fled down the stairs. Her broken ankle throbbed in pain as she leaned heavily against the wall for support. Her breathing was labored with the sensation that her lungs were constricting from lack of oxygen, as if Niles himself were leaving with her very life source. She wondered when this need for him had developed and why she hadn't realized it before. A part of her wanted to withdraw from him as she always did when anyone even attempted to get too close, but a different part of her, reckless though it seemed, refused to back down now.

She only slightly winced in pain as she began painstakingly making her way towards the staircase. She sat down on the top stair and tilted her head to rest it on the side of the railing while she waited for Niles to return. Just when C.C. was beginning to believe he would stay hidden in the kitchen and leave her helpless and alone there all day, she finally heard the sound of his footsteps approaching. Despite her anger, hurt, and confusion, she found herself glad to see him. He stopped at the bottom of the staircase, and there was a tense, challenging silence between them as both of them waited for the other to speak first.

"You're trying to kill me, aren't you?" C.C. asked at last.

The monotone of her voice startled Niles, as he could not read into what she meant, whether it be serious or in jest.

"I'm sorry for leaving you like I did," he said weakly.

She rolled her eyes bitterly.

"Feeling guilty now, are we? I don't need your pity, Niles," she spat.

He grimaced from the sharpness of her tone, as if he had been physically slapped in the face.

"It's not pity," he replied in a stronger voice than before. "Please, give me a chance to explain why I acted the way I did."

C.C. sighed in surrender, lifted her head from the side of the railing, and focused her gaze intently down upon him.

"This better be good, Butler Boy."

He nodded hurriedly and twisted his fingers in a nervous gesture.

"The truth is that I like having you around, okay?" he blurted out.

C.C.'s stomach did a flip, but as she opened her mouth to say something, he continued.

"I'm sorry, this didn't come out the way I wanted it to. I just meant that although this accident wasn't planned, I have grown accustomed to having you around."

He looked up at her, and when he noticed that she looked somewhat disappointed he quickly continued.

"It's just so easy to give in to that fantasy, you know? And when you asked for my bathrobe this morning, it just felt so normal… so right. I don't even want to think about having to go back to my everyday routine that doesn't include you. Now I know this doesn't justify leaving you there the way I did, but maybe you'll understand..."

He lowered his head, half expecting her to laugh in his face.

"Will you stop behaving like a child and get up here?" she said sharply, but he was surprised to find that her eyes were warm and caring.

He immediately jumped into action and climbed the remaining steps that were separating them. Sitting down next to her, he was wondering what to expect. C.C. slowly turned around to face him, her light blue eyes still sparkling.

"I will only tell you this once," she said sternly and tentatively lifted her hand to rest it on his cheek "I find your robe very comfortable and am not planning to give it up, so you better get used to it!"

This elicited a series of throaty chuckles, trying to fight the urge to rest his hand on top of hers.

"And if you'll excuse me now, I have a date to get ready for and you better pick out some nice clothes."

"It's very wise, you know, starting now," he quipped. "Goodness knows you'll need all the time you can get."

C.C. rolled her eyes at him, but the smile on her face was bright.

"On second thought, Niles, how about we eat some breakfast first? I'm starved!"

He smiled as he stood and helped her to her feet, allowing yet another opportunity for an insult to slide.

To be continued…