A/N: Hello Hello everyone! Excited to share this with you! Thanks to Vee22, Avagrace2888, ladybrin, rx9872, and ElectraE for reviewing chapter 9. I think I have a difficult time focusing when I write multiple chapter stories at once. For those of you who are reading both of them, would you like me to continue taking turns with updates or finish one first? If you would like me to finish one first, which one? Anyways, hope you continue to enjoy this story!

Chapter 10 – Built Up Anxiety

C.C. and Niles slept little the night before as the two of them worried tremendously about the phone call from the previous night. Although Niles never heard the other end of the phone call, he could tell that C.C. was on edge and knew there was more to it than she had told him.

Lost in their thoughts, they were interrupted by the sound of the alarm clock. C.C. immediately sprung out of bed, stripped down and hopped into the shower.

Niles planned on going back to work today at the Sheffield mansion, although he wasn't due there for another couple of hours and therefore didn't climb out of bed as C.C. got ready to begin the day.

Of course, the fact that he wasn't due at work for another couple of hours would give him ample time to become even more anxious and worried about the phone call from the previous night. Normally, something as a simple telephone call wouldn't phase him one bit, however, he clearly saw how it had affected C.C and he knew then and there that something was desperately wrong.

He also had other things on his mind. First of all, the Sheffields had no idea about their relationship and what it had become. Hell, Niles didn't really know how to define it yet. They hadn't really discussed in detail exactly what they were to each other. He also hadn't really thought about what would become of his living situation now that he was going back to work. Surely, he would have to move back into the mansion, right? After all, they had only declared their love for one another just a couple of days ago and as much as he absolutely adored C.C., he really didn't see it wise to move in with her so suddenly. Of course his heart told him otherwise, but his head was screaming at him to slow down.

He was also thinking about their dinner date, which was scheduled for later that evening when the two of them were finished working. He wanted everything to go perfectly and planned on acting like a complete gentleman for the entire night. This entailed paying for dinner, opening doors for her, buying her flowers, the whole nine yards.

Caught up in his concerns, he was greeted by C.C. She had just gotten out of the shower and was wearing nothing but a towel around her body and another entwined around her damp blonde locks.

Niles could feel his brain turn to mush at the sight of her like this. She walked by him in order to get to her closet. He took in the scent of her ivory scented soap, a smell, which he had recently become accustomed to as the two of them spent time entwined in her bed sheets. This alone drove him completely mad and he could feel his lower body twitch in desire as she stood in front of her closet picking out a business suit to wear for the day.

No longer able to control himself, Niles quickly threw off the covers, got up and snuck behind her before wrapping his arms around her waist and planting several kisses down her exposed neck. He was immediately turned on more so as he heard her lightly purr in pleasure at the contact.

"Niles, stop it", she said in a sultry voice which clearly suggested she wanted different.

"C.C.", he relished in the sounds of the syllables rolling off his tongue. He shifted in front of her before pulling her into a deep kiss. As wonderful as this kiss was, he could still feel that something was wrong by the tension in her shoulders.

"C.C., you're so tense."

He began to massage her shoulders before continuing.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing", but he could clearly tell that something was on her mind.

"C.C. I know something is the matter, please tell me."

She wanted to tell him, but decided against it for the moment. After all, she figured if it was just a simple mistake, then the problem might not even exist in the next few hours.

As much as she wanted to believe this, however, she had a horrible feeling that there were other forces at work when it came to the sudden discrepancy in her finances.

"Just work related, still worried about renting the theatre and casting and such."

Niles still figured there was more to the story, but decided not to push her any further.

He continued to caress her shoulder blades, causing her hair to stand on end and the subject of their conversation and worry to quickly escape her brain.

He, too, was quickly forgetting his worry as he could clearly see the effect his actions were having on Babcock.

"Niles, stop it, I'll be late for work", she giggled through the seductive smile on her face.

He pulled her even closer before leaning in to whisper in her ear. She could feel his breath against her neck, which was causing her to lose the little remaining reserve that she had left.

"Just tell him you're taking care of me!"

"Interesting choice of words, Butler Boy."

"Well, we could show up together."

"I would like that."

She turned around to face him, the smile on her face so bright that it made him go weak at the knees.

He pulled her close to him before planting a soft kiss on her lips and slipping the towel down her curves. She slowly took off his pajamas and the two of them were entwined in her bed sheets once again.

…

After spending the remainder of the Niles' free time together, the two of them showered together before dressing for work at the Sheffield mansion.

The two of them left her bedroom together before Niles made a cup of coffee and C.C. browsed the morning newspaper. When the coffee was done brewing he poured her and himself a cup to go and the two of them headed down the elevator after first locking the apartment door.

They walked out of the apartment building hand in hand before breaking apart to climb into C.C.'s BMW.

They held hands in the car on the way to the Sheffield mansion; however, little words were spoken between the two of them. With little talk, the concerns that they had hours earlier started to consume both their minds and the bliss they felt moments earlier quickly disappeared as the reality of the situation set in.

C.C. knew that she needed to get her finances straightened out and she had every intention of making those phone calls as soon as she arrived at the house.

They showed up at the house soon enough, and Niles quickly exited the vehicle and ran to the driver's side to open the door for C.C. She chuckled at the ridiculousness of his behavior but was quite flattered by it as well.

"Is me opening the door funny to you?"

She smiled at him before explaining herself.

"You being a gentlemen is quite charming Niles, but I still can't help but laugh. After all I am the one that just drove us here and all. Not to mention, I am still not completely used to you being nice to me."

"Well, don't worry, Babs, I'm sure we'll exchange some zingers soon enough being that we are about to enter our natural habitat and all."

"In all seriousness, do you think that they'll know?"

"Know what, C.C.?"

"About us, when we enter together."

"I don't know, but like I said before, I wouldn't mind if they knew."

She planted a chaste kiss on his lips in order to reassure him that her feelings were mutual. Hand in hand, they rang the doorbell. Fran immediately came to answer it.

"Hi Miss Babcock, NYULES!"

She immediately pulled him into an embrace, so happy to see him that she didn't even notice the two of them holding hands just moments earlier.

Maxwell walked into the living room soon after.

"C.C. You're Late! Niles, old man, good to see you back in working order."

"Thank you sir, and Miss Babcock was late on account of me. She was has been taking wonderful care of me, sir.

Fran could see the gleam in his eye at this statement and knew immediately that something was going on between the two of them. She spoke before Maxwell could get a word in edgewise.

"Oh really!"

She flashed him a wink.

Maxwell was totally confused by the situation and honestly didn't have much interest in it at the moment as the pressures of work started to get to him.

"C'mon C.C., let's get to work."

The two of them left the room and headed to the office.

"So Niles, how have you been? Your surgeries went well I see. I am so glad you are back. I have missed you!"

"Everything has been wonderful. My recovery went quite well, better than expected actually."

Fran was twitching in anticipation as she was dying to question Niles about his time at C.C.'s penthouse.

"So Niles, how was it…staying with Miss Babcock? I am sure that must have been difficult for you."

"C.C. has been quite supportive of my recovery. She even helped pay some of my medical bills."

"Oh so it's C.C. now? What's going on between you two?"

"Everything! Honestly, I care about her tremendously…I'm in love with her."

"OH MY GAWD. How did this happen, when did it happen?"

"Well, officially, 2 days ago, but I've had feelings for her for far longer than that."

"Oh really! Well, you certainly have a strange way of showing it, Mister!"

The two of them chuckled at her comment before separating from one another so that Niles could begin his butler duties. As much as he despised the domestic lifestyle, he was quite content and thankful that he was back on his feet and able to perform these duties at all. Again, he had C.C. to thank for this and he would do all in his power to show her how much she meant to him.

…..

C.C. got little work done before lunchtime as she continued to worry about the discrepancy with her account. She needed to figure out what was going on and she needed to do it fast. If there was one thing that C.C. was always on top of, it was her finances.

As soon as Maxwell decided it was time for lunch, C.C. made her first phone call. She called the hospital again to make sure it wasn't a mistake and was quite unhappy to find out that the transaction was still denied.

Her second phone call would be much more revealing, for she called her bank and was informed that a very large sum of money had been removed from the account in question just a couple of days earlier. The bank also informed her that the hospital had tried to collect their money and were clearly perturbed as the transaction was denied. These two transactions had occurred within a day of one another.

There were 3 other people that had access to the account in question. These people were the following: Stuart, B.B. and Noel Babcock.

Without asking the teller, C.C. was sure that it was her mother that had taken the money from her account. After all, she had just come over 2 days ago to lecture her about her life and tell her to not get involved with Niles. She probably figured out that C.C. planned on using that money in order to pay part of Niles' medical expenses.

She immediately dialed her mother's number on the cordless and waited as the phone rang. After several rings, she was greeted with the unenthused shrill voice of her mother.

"Hello. B.B. on the line."

"Hello mother. I am sure you have been expecting my phone call after what you have done."

"No C.C. after the way you spoke to me the other day, a phone call was the last thing I expected from you."

"Well, every word I have said to you was completely deserved, and as much as I could go on about your horrible behavior toward a man that I happen to care about, that is not why I called. I know good and well you withdrew the vast majority of the funds from the family account."

"C.C. what is going on with you and the help?"

"None of your business, I didn't call to tell you about my life. I need that money back and I need it now."

"I never took that money out. You should probably talk to Noel about that."

"Why would Noel need the money?"

"Maybe if you would pay attention to your family and what's important instead shacking up with your employer's butler you would know."

"Tell me mother!"

But before C.C. could continue to press her mother for more information, she was off the line. Now in addition to worrying about Niles' medical expenses, there was something going on with her brother that required him to need a substantial amount of money and fast.

She had hoped that these phone calls would solve her problems, but now it seemed as if they had just gotten worse. She needed to call her brother and was about to do so before Maxwell came back into the office. She knew that he would give her hell for not getting back to work immediately especially considering she came in late this morning.

She definitely needed to call him as soon as the workday was over, for she just had a feeling that something was definitely wrong. Considering her gut is what brought her to the mansion the night of the fire, she generally stuck with it.

Maxwell handed her some scripts to read and few phone numbers of different investors to call once she picked a script out of the narrowed down few he had handed her.

She was having a hard time focusing on her work and became even more distracted as Niles came in the room with tea for both her and Maxwell. He could immediately feel her anxiety and knew something was desperately the matter. Ignoring Maxwell's presence, he sat down next to her on the green leather sofa and wrapped his arm around her.

He slowly pulled her chin up in order to meet his eyes before whispering to her.

"C.C., what is wrong? I can tell you are on edge. Please tell me."

"I'll tell you in detail later once I find out myself. I just know that something is going on with my brother."

"Is it bad? Is he alright?"

"I honestly have no idea, my mother didn't tell me much other than the fact that she clearly does not support my relationship with you."

Maxwell looked up at them suddenly with a raised eyebrow, clearly in complete and utter shock at what he thought he just heard.

"I'm sorry…"

"Niles, there's no need to apologize. Listen, I better get back to work, but I am very excited for our date tonight."

"Me too, I have made reservations at that new Italian restaurant that just opened up."

"I heard the food there is wonderful."

"Yes, I heard the same. Well I'll let you get back to work."

He kissed her on the cheek before walking out of the room and returning to his daily duties.

C.C. turned to face Maxwell and was met with a face of complete and utter shock as his mouth was hanging open.

"C.C. what the bloody hell is going on?"

She giggled to herself before speaking.

"Oh you mean Niles and I, yeah we are an item if you know what I mean."

"Yes I heard. I am happy for you, but you must understand my shock."

"Trust me, I completely understand and if you had told me that Niles and I would be together before the accident, I would have looked at you like you had 3 heads. I don't know, maybe I always knew that I had feelings for him, deep down, but it took something so drastic to realize them."

"Well, I am happy for you C.C."

"Thank you Maxwell."

He flashed her a small smile before the two of them continued with their work once again.

C.C. of course, had a terrible time reading through the scripts as thoughts about her brother entered her mind once again. She did her best to push through however, and was even able to secure one of the investors that Maxwell had given her the phone numbers for.

After a long grueling day, work was finally over for them both. C.C. needed to make this call, however, before she went out with Niles because she knew that if she didn't, then she would be distracted the entire evening they were out.

She decided to use Maxwell's phone since her cell phone had a low battery. She dialed her brother's number and anxiously anticipated his answer.

After several rings, he finally answered the phone.

"Hello, Noel Babcock here."

She could immediately tell by the tone of his voice that he was not well and there was something desperately wrong. She just prayed, that whatever it was, the money could fix it totally, for she couldn't stand hearing her brother sound like this any longer.