Chapter 31
Trying to wake up felt bleary, heavy and warm, even before Niles had opened his eyes. It was as though the heat from the top of the duvet had seeped entirely through the whole thing, making it hot and weighted against his skin, but somehow never losing its softness, or making him so uncomfortable that he wanted to wake up and throw it off.
It was almost as though he were cocooned protectively, warm and comfortable, and...and happy.
He had slept like a log, and it didn't take a fully awake man to realise that.
Although, as his brain began to re-join the rest of the world, he slowly began to realise the duvet couldn't possibly feel quite so heavy, in only specific locations...
Or be shaped like a person, pressed exactly to his body, in all the places he enjoyed best...and in one place (his favourite of all, some might say), to still be...on it, with legs spread either side...
The memories of the night before - of kisses and touches and moans, both soft and loud - came flooding back as he opened his eyes, the blurry (and very naked) silhouette of C.C. Babcock soon turning into a full picture.
And said full picture happened to be lying on top of him, skin to skin with her legs straddling his hips and grinning all over her face as she watched him come to.
"Morning, sleepyhead..." she purred, leaning down to kiss him on the nose. "Did I wear you out last night...?"
That was right. Last night hadn't been just one of his many fantastic-but-ultimately-futile dreams from years gone past. It had happened, right there in the bed where they had both, for once, woken up together.
He'd gotten C.C. Babcock, the woman he'd loved his whole life and knew he would never let go. She'd wanted him, just as much as he'd wanted her, and it had led to this. To them promising to start over, to try again, and to do better this time.
Last night was certainly on-par with the beautiful, passionate first night they'd had. But he was sure they had many years to perfect that element, in all sorts of other creative ways.
And, not for the first time in his life (but certainly rare enough that it called for celebration), he felt like he had come out a winner. He wasn't a typical Hollywood hero - he wasn't handsome, in his view, he wasn't dashing or particularly brave, he could talk and cook and clean and run a business, but nothing about that was exciting. And yet, he'd still gotten the girl.
All that was left to do was ride off into the sunset, he supposed.
He was more than ready for that.
Trying to stretch without disturbing her, he grinned back up at her.
"Well, I wasn't about to stop you, it wouldn't have been polite to interrupt..."
"Oh, so you were just being gentlemanly? Not doing it for your own enjoyment at all?" she teased, quirking an eyebrow.
"I am nothing if not a selfless lover, dear," he replied before giving her a soft, loving, good morning kiss. "I can provide further proof, if you're still unconvinced."
"Well… although I'm always happy to do some more trial runs, I think you and I have a few things to talk about, Mister…"
Niles gave her a curious look. What few things could they still need to discuss? As far as he was aware, they'd been pretty much open about everything the night before.
What could it be that she needed to talk about? Had something just slipped his mind? He had only just woken up, after all...
"What few things?" he asked, slipping his arms from his sides to curl them around her. "I'd thought we'd covered practically everything last night..."
C.C. chuckled lightly, shifting a little bit to make herself comfortable, but not getting off him.
"Not everything, Scrub Brush," she told him. "We didn't really get into any detail over...long-term plans and arrangements. Like where everybody will be living, or where the kids will go to school. That kind of thing..."
Well, that certainly was a topic they hadn't really covered the night before! But he did remember saying that they could plan everything out - they were both intelligent and knew how to make plans that went off exactly as they should.
This wasn't the Sheffield house; plans rarely went awry without significant effort from somebody else to make them go wrong.
And, from his very core radiating outwards, Niles was beyond delighted at the prospect of getting to make long-term plans with C.C.! It was something he'd resigned himself to never being able to do, back when the girls had been little.
He'd been so convinced they'd never speak again that he hadn't even let the thought enter his mind, most days. It had hurt too much, knowing what he'd never be allowed to have.
And yet now...now, here they were, with her bringing up the subject while they lay in bed together, never to be apart again.
He started to smile again, "I see...where would you like to start?"
"Well…living arrangements, of course," she said matter-of-factly. "If we are going to make this work, I don't think we should live thousands of miles away from one another."
"No…no we shouldn't," he said thoughtfully. "Not only for us, but also for the twins."
"That's true," she said, nuzzling him. "They'd probably kill us if we tried to separate them at this point."
"Actually I feel they'd pull another one of their little schemes."
"Little?" C.C. chuckled. "That's an understatement, Butler Boy. They played us for suckers, over and over and over again…"
Both parents shared a laugh. Their girls were a handful, but they couldn't be mad at them if they tried. How could they, when it was thanks to them that they were back together? How could Niles in particular be mad at them when it was thanks to them that the wool had been pulled from over his eyes where Kathleen was concerned?
"Oh, fine, they are evil geniuses," he said, rolling his eyes in mock annoyance. "Just like their mother."
C.C. gave him a look of mock offence, before feigning a dark countenance, looming over him in a joking fashion.
"Careful, Butler Boy; this evil genius doesn't take kindly to being mocked, and where you are right now is the seat of my power..."
Niles simply looked down between them into the dark of the sheets, where she was still "on" him (or him in her, depending on how one viewed it), letting one of his own eyebrows raise as he looked back up at her.
"I can see that."
He should've expected the swat that hit his chest after that.
Not too hard, obviously – C.C. had been both surprised, worried and wary of the pacemaker, when his shirt had come off the night before. She'd demanded to know everything before they took anything else off, and he'd explained his doctor's reasoning.
That had calmed her enough to allow them to continue. Once, of course, he'd reassured her that they could go at any pace they liked.
But the swat she'd just given him was enough to be both playful and somehow unimpressed at the same time. Not that she didn't let her hand linger near where it was, massaging the area in what was obviously a quiet attempt to make sure he was alright and she hadn't done any damage.
"Sorry," he said, releasing one of her sides to grab that hand. "Anyway, you are right. It will be easier on us all, if we are all living in the same place."
The more he thought about it, the more he realised just how true that statement was. Even knowing they were together now, being separated would still be painful beyond belief. He'd be worrying about both C.C. and Mia constantly – wondering what they were doing, if they were working too hard (one of them in particular), if they were eating well, sleeping alright...
And that was just the everyday worries! What would happen if anything extraordinary happened, like illness, or an accident? They needed to be closer. If they were going to look after their girls and each other, it was for the best.
He had to step up – he was the father, after all. He had to be the one to protect and provide for his family. It was he who would have to make sacrifices if he wanted to recover the family he'd once lost.
The course of action was clear – he and Lottie would have to move to America.
He wasn't going to ask C.C. to take such a drastic leap by moving to the UK. She'd spent her whole life there and already had it mapped out perfectly. Her job was there, Mia's school, their home, C.C.'s parents and brother - he couldn't ask her to give them all up, or leave it all behind, and uproot their child in the process.
Not simply to come and live with him and Lottie. And their girls would both be so thrilled to be together, he was certain that Lottie wouldn't mind moving. She was a good girl, and smart, and he knew she could easily fit in, in an American school.
And he'd already lived there for so many years, it would hardly be an issue for him to go back. He could retire – sell the restaurant (it would hurt to say goodbye to the staff, but they'd understand), and then manage his properties from the States.
His mother would, of course, keep the house to do as she pleased with it. She'd be so happy about it all, he doubted she'd mind if they went to live somewhere else. She'd been the one to tell him to fight for what he wanted in the first place!
This was definitely the right move. There was less at stake this way, and that would make the process clean and relatively stress-free.
He was just about to open his mouth to say all of this, when C.C. got there first.
"Yeah. That's why I think Mia and I should move to London."
Niles paused, his mouth half-way to parting.
Wait...what? Where had that idea come from? Didn't she realise it would be easier if he and Lottie moved? Surely she had done all the calculations in her head, and thought about it all logically - she had the mind of a businesswoman and she knew what to do to make it the most efficient process.
At least, in most cases she did. Niles didn't understand how she wasn't seeing it in this instance.
He blinked at her, "You...you think you two should move here?"
"Well... yeah," she said, "You have your restaurant here, your businesses here–"
"And you have your job in America," he cut her off, "Not to mention both Lottie and I are American citizens as well as British, whereas you don't have a British passport."
"That, my darling, hunk of an ex-husband, is where you are somewhat wrong," she said with a devilish smile. "You see, when we got Mia and Lottie to have double citizenship, I figured that it would be a good move for me to try and get it as well, should Mia ever wish to move to Europe. So I got down to business and, as it so happened, I found out that, through my mother's side, I had Irish grandparents – they came to America during the First World War. I then applied for an Irish Passport and, lo and behold, I now hold dual nationality – Irish and American. Since Ireland is part of the EU, I can settle in the UK whenever I want."
Niles was nearly struck dumb by the cleverness involved in C.C.'s plan. He'd never known about her mother's family history, so why would he have thought to check where they had come from before settling in New York?
The simple answer was that he wouldn't. He hadn't met most of them, to start off, and those he had met, he had only met them for a short amount of time.
It never would've occurred to him that such a thing was possible, in any case!
But now, he knew that it was. All thanks to this beautiful, golden goddess lounging on top of him like she never intended to be anywhere else.
And, if everything all went well, she'd never have to be. They could have the family he had thought about in his head, ever since the day the twins had been born, and it nearly completely melted him away to think of having his whole family together. Never to be parted again.
The love of his life – his C.C. – truly was the smartest person he knew. She'd given them a way of easily being together, creating an efficient and workable system, in the most her-like fashion; through the power of paperwork.
He couldn't help but be proud. She had made it possible for them to stay right where they were, not divided by an ocean. It swelled it his chest in utter delight and welcoming, and some of that made its way into his face, stretching it to match hers.
"You really are a clever one, you know that?"
"I do, but your compliments are greatly appreciated," she said rubbing their noses together, "And, to make things even better, I even came up with a solution where my job is concerned."
"Really?"
"Really," she said. "My father has been looking for someone to take care of the European branches of the company, and our headquarters are based here, in London. I'll still be CEO, but I'll manage everything from here while simultaneously trying to expand our operations in Europe."
Well, that was it – she really had thought of everything!
"The only thing that worries me, however, is Mia finding a spot at a school before the year starts," she said, eyebrows knitted together into a frown. "I have nothing against public schools, but I'd rather she continued her education at a private institution."
"You needn't worry about that," Niles said, "I can arrange for Mia to start at Lottie's school."
"Niles, we are only two weeks away from classes starting!" said C.C..
"Yes, I am well aware, and any other regular Joe would most definitely have to bend over backwards. But I am no regular Joe – I'm one of the school's most generous donors and I also happen to own the catering service that provides lunches for the entire school."
There was a pause after that, where C.C. looked like she didn't know whether to burst out laughing, or give him a genuine look of being impressed.
Niles suspected she felt both urges equally. Both because of the emergence of one of his sudden, newfound connections in high society, and because it had all come about as a result of his domestic skills. He'd spent years watching rich people from the backseat, and as a result he'd learnt a thing or two that had come in handy when he'd become a millionaire himself!
He had to admit, there was an irony about the headmistress of a prestigious girl's school, with a damehood to her name and a family tracing its history back to William the Conqueror, was practically relying on new money from a man who used to have to vacuum the crumbs out of bedsheets in a mansion in New York.
He would've laughed himself, had C.C. not finally spoken up.
"Well, aren't you just full of surprises...!" she declared, clearly pleased about it all. "You must be the most useful man to know in all of London..."
Niles smirked, "You ain't seen nothing yet, my dear. I think you will find that I have plenty of surprises up my sleeve, and not all of them involve business."
C.C. softly stroked a nail down his chest, letting the skin tingle and making him shiver.
"I should certainly hope not...!" she murmured. "I want to keep a few of those surprises for myself, you know..."
Just like the night before, Niles didn't reply verbally.
Not that C.C. would ever complain – especially not when, in the future, she'd consider the next two hours and a half some of the best of her life.
The last coherent thought she had, was that she thanked God for second opportunities.