A/N : The sequel to Admit impediments, written in y new notebook :) I've decided that I would create a proper story with this AU, so I'll run it to the conclusion that I had envisioned.

Genre: Romance/Angst

Rating: T+

Title:Admit impediments II (AU: "Her Butler and his Socialite" Universe)

As soon as Johnson had announced the presence of C. C.'s parents, Niles' nervousness had come back with a vengeance. It was making it difficult to walk into the sitting room, to see them. His palms were becoming clammy; his heart rate had increased tremendously… He felt like a fool entering the dragon's lair.

He did not doubt C. C.'s feelings in the slightest. Nor did he think that her parents' disapproval – and disapprove, they would. How could they accept a butler in the family? – would be the cause of their future… separation. He would not say divorce. It would be an improbable conclusion to their story. For "divorce" still carried a stigma, even in this day and age. And Niles highly doubted her parents would in any way be pleased by it.

However, he was afraid that they would shun her, effectively rejecting her from the family. And he knew what her father and brother meant to her. Even her mother was very important to C. C. Or that they would send her off to be swallowed by the sharks of the newly powerful scandal newspapers.

If it came to that… well, suffice it to say that the thought of what she might be sacrificing for him left him with dread and angst. He had known this, of course, when he had married her. And, as much as she had said that she would find a way to make sure that her parents did not ruin them, he was starting to have serious doubts about the whole affair.

It was probably because he was going to have to face the music right NOW that worry gnawed at him that much. His heart was still doing a mad dance in his chest, and he swallowed with difficulty, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down. He cast a glance at his new wife. She looked as beautiful as she always did. But she was scared. Her eyes that had looked bright a few moments before, had that gleam in them. And her skin had lost its lustre. He never liked to see her like that, and had vowed to always be able to keep the fear away. Of course, C. C. had always been the more adventurous of the two. She had begun with their affair, she had proposed, she was the successful and accomplished businesswoman who had fought her parents to get her money before her majority, and make it thrive. She had founded her own company, owning theatres in London, Paris, New York, and few other cities. She was the one with the relations… Fear had rarely factored in her life, and he hoped that it would continue that way.

She grabbed his hand a gave him a shaky smile.

"We are together in this, aren't we, Niles?"

"As long as you want me, love. As long as you want me"

"Forever, then" she answered with that soft look that made him melt every time. Somewhat relieved at the role he played in her life, he motioned for Johnson to announce the to their guests.

"Mother, Father" saluted C. C. cheerfully, still on her guard when she gave the both of them a kiss on the cheek. "I hope you did not wait too long. Why are you here?"

"We are miserable as always, C. C. dear, thank you for asking" replied her mother in a very dramatic fashion. B. B. Babcock had never been one to accept being ignored.

"We simply wanted to visit, kitten, a spur of the moment visit, if you like" replied Stuart Babcock.

"And who might this gentleman be, C. C. dear?" asked her mother, who seemed to notice everything, even Niles hovering over his wife.

C. C. smiled brightly. "This is Niles Brightmore, my husband"

C. C.'s mother sputtered and nearly strangled herself with the hot tea that she had asked Johnson to serve while they waited for their daughter. The lady recovered quite quickly, however, and smiled like a venomous snake who had found a ridiculously resisting prey. There was a light of incredulity in her eye. C. C.'s father seemed just as shocked, but merely raised his eyebrows to his hairline.

"I'm sorry, C. C. dear, I must have misheard, or did you just say that you married your butler?" asked Mrs Babcock. At that time, Niles had never more hated the "C. C. dear" that her mother kept on calling her daughter. Mr Babcock did not look furious, not yet anyway – it was a small relief.

C. C. took Niles' hand in hers and looked into his eyes for some sort of support. He smiled gently, and nodded.

"Yes, mother. You heard correctly. We love each other, and…"

"And we got married two weeks ago" finished Niles.

Mr and Mrs Babcock's heads turned right to him. B. B.'s eyes with fury – how dare that "man" interfere in the conversation, Stuart with some interest. For a fleeting moment, Niles wondered if this was what a mouse felt when it came face to face with a cat. He kept wondering of this was the moment where they would bust him out of her life, or ostracise her.

"You eloped, you mean" grumbled Stuart.

"So?" replied C. C. tersely.

"Well, I'm sure that we could still get you out of this situation, dear. There's always a solution. You cannot want to… well, an annulment should be possible"

"No, Mother. I refuse to leave my husband. I love Niles, and I…"

"But, C. C. dear, the scandal!"

"Ladies, enough!" intervened Stuart "C. C. is old enough to make her choices. She is legally major, after all, and legally married. And I doubt that there will be much scandal unless we spread the story" Ever the consummate and level-headed businessman, Stuart had kept his cool.

"What?! You… Stuart, you would give them your blessing?!"

Niles looked at the man with interest. He was certainly taking this better than his over-the-top wife. Still, he could not help looking for the catch.

"Kitten, why don't you go freshen up?" asked Stuart "Niles and you must not have had time to do so since returning from your trip"

"Well, I…" Torn between escaping the Inquisition, and staying to deter them from their new prey, C. C. hesitated. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze, and smiled softly with that twinkle in his eyes. She nearly melted on the spot.

"Go. You will feel better afterwards. You know how you always hate to wait before freshening up"

"A-Alright, then. I'll be back soon" she said getting up. Their fingers were still intertwined, and C. C. seemed unable to let go of him. He smiled at her again, and Stuart Babcock had the disagreeable impression that he was intruding on a very private scene, in his daughter's house. Come to think of it, had he not sometimes felt that way when he was visiting his daughter, and she was in a room with her butler? His wife, however, seemed ready to burst. The familiarity between the two seemed too much for them.

C. C. left the scene, dread creeping up her back. She something crucial was on the verge of happening, and she doubted it would be at her advantage. After that tête à tête, she was certain that Niles would go. Tears pooled in her eyes as she shakily made her way up the stairs. She brushed them aside, and inhaled deeply. "Drop the silliness, C. C." she told herself "Niles will not leave you"

In the library, the silence was deafening. Niles tried to stay calm, his eyes going from one wolf to the other, but his wife's departure seemed too ominous for it to work. He tried not to falter under their inquisitive gazes. B. B. looked ready to murder him, while Stuart's eyes had a calculating glint, as if he were measuring their options with extreme care.

"Mr Babcock, Mrs Babcock, I… I know how shocked you must be"

"Are you, servant?! You cannot possibly imagine how astonished and irate we are right now. Why, the scandal alone would ruin our family name!"

"B. B., calm down, will you?' he said, putting a calming hand on his wife's arm. "I'm sure that you can understand that we are quite shocked. C. C. had never even expressed the wish to marry one day. As far as we knew, she had never intended to marry, even as a little girl. And she had only gone to events with friends, a few dates, but never anything serious. To hear, now, that she is married, that she eloped, and with a butler no less… We were not prepared for this kind of news. We had simply come to have tea with our daughter."

"As I said, Mr Babcock, I understand that this comes as quite a shock to you. I'm quite aware that women like C. C. do not marry their butlers"

"Women like my daughter, Mr Brightmore?" asked Stuart.

"Rich heiresses, Stuart. The man obviously took advantage of our daughter's loneliness, and I'll be damned if…"

"I meant independent, witty, strong businesswomen, Mrs Babcock" cut Niles, eyes blazing "And I highly doubt that anyone could take advantage of her"

The woman snorted. "Well, the man says that now, Stuart, but you know how their type works. The man can only be after her money!"

"Mrs Babcock, I do not care for your daughter's money, I don't want it! I love your daughter. I would have married her even without her money, even if she were poor and walked barefoot!"

"Sit down, Niles, I may call you Niles, right?"

Niles looked around, he seemed surprised to be up. He had not noticed that in his outburst, he had gotten up. He sat down, nodding absentmindedly.

"You too, please, B. B. All these outbursts are upsetting my poor ulcer" he said, taking a cigar, and lit it up with a match. He blew up some smoke, before beginning again "Tell me, Niles, would you describe yourself as an honest man?"

"I would like to think that I am one, yes"

"I think that you are, indeed. I suppose that trying to send you off with money would only insult you, and would not make you leave?"

"No, I would not leave my wife, sir"

"To be frank with you, Niles, there is little people can do to deter my daughter when she's got her mind on something. I think that she loves you. In fact, I do not believe that I've ever seen her look at anyone as she looks at you.

"Stuart, I do not think that it has anything to do with…"

"It has everything to do with it, B. B. Whether we like it or not, Niles and C. C. are married. Since she is both major and sound of mind, there is nothing we can do about it, even if having a former butler for son-in-law is not what I had wanted for my daughter. At least, the man is honest, and loves her. There is nothing we can do about them, but accept their marriage without making waves"

"You're giving them your blessing?! Stuart!"

"For a woman who's so afraid of scandal, Mrs Babcock, you seem hell-bent on making one"

"How dare you?!"

"Enough, B. B.! The man is right; you are making a scandal"

"Well, I never!" she huffed.

The three of them were silent for a few minutes. The sound of footsteps echoed around the house; it seemed C. C. was back. She entered the room nervously, wondering what was going on in there, and what the shouts were about.

"Ah! C. C.!" said her father with a smile "we just had a very interesting conversation with your husband"

"Did you? Well, I always thought that he was a good conversationalist" she replied sitting down.

"If you must know, C. C., that man seems to want to stick around as if he was glued to…"

C. C.'s eyes glowed furiously. The nerve of her mother! She hated that her mother dared insult her Niles.

Sensing her ire, Niles gently took her hand, and intertwined their fingers. Their eyes locked, and she gave him a small reassuring smile.

"We know that we have to accept your marriage. There will be no scandal. We won't cast you out either, C. C."

Mrs Babcock, apparently deflated and rendered to her husband's arguments, simply nodded.

"Well, since the only scandal would be what we would invite… Let's just hope that he'll find some other form of work"

"Oh, well, I doubt that he'll need to work another day in his life now that we're married, but… since you mention it, Mother" said C. C. beaming at her husband, still not quite believing that her parents were not more difficult about it "Niles is an excellent writer"

"Oh, really, what does he write, ledgers?"

"Mother!"