Author's Note: Here's chapter 9! Thank you to all the readers of this story. As a small writer, I would greatly appreciate all of your support. Please follow, read, and review for more content! I will be more than happy to post more chapters to this story as my muse has been especially high here. This chapter highlights content from an episode that will be showcased in the next chapter, so keep an eye out for that!
Disclaimer: Nope, The Nanny is not mine. Yes, Sabrina is mine.
As promised, CC spent the next few weekends with her daughter at home. The two had bonded more than ever, and even though they were still inside the penthouse, they had the time of their lives. Sabrina especially was enjoying these moments of where she could just be herself. She didn't have to hide anything or lie to anyone. Every little moment shared with her mother was perfect, even though there were times where they did get into small fights. Each and every day marked new moments and opportunities for the young pop star to bond with her Broadway producer mother. It was safe to say that Sabrina really enjoyed those moments. She never thought she'd bond so quickly with her, and yet here she was, practically acting like she knew her the entire 19 almost 20 years of her life. Her mother was her best friend, and Sabrina wouldn't trade that for anything in the world.
After many long days of laughing, doing each other's makeup, talking about their lives, and poking fun at the help, CC became quite tired. Getting the chance to be a mother changed her life completely. She found herself feeling mentally and physically exhausted and gained weight in the process. On most days, she would stay up till later hours to wait for Sabrina to come home from rehearsals, which caused her to lose a great deal of sleep. She also made sure that she set a better example for Sabrina by staying sober with her. Giving up alcohol was extremely difficult for CC, but it was probably just as difficult for her baby to stop drinking as well. She wanted to make sure that her daughter wasn't going through anything alone as CC knew what it was like to truly be lonely her entire life. After years of being the uptight, egocentric businesswoman who didn't have a care for anyone else in the world, her life turned an entire 180 degrees within a matter of months.
One entire afternoon spent with each other had tired out CC to the point where she took a nap on the couch while Sabrina ordered Chinese takeout for dinner. Since it was going to be awhile, Sabrina let her mother sleep while she went back into her room to test out her new music studio that was built for her. She was very excited to test out the piano and computer that was there so she could write songs of her own. The last time she had written her own songs was when she was 16, and even those songs didn't even make it to the top 10. Sabrina's songs were mainly written by other people, but she was hoping that one day, she would compose a new song that was meaningful to her. Before she started to play, she made sure the door to her room was closed so that the noise from the piano wouldn't wake up CC. She remembered a while back, she had a few notes memorized that she had written down, but she didn't have any lyrics to go with them. Since she didn't have a true song composed, she just decided to play spontaneously. It was something she did to calm her nerves down.. much better than drinking alcohol.
The calm and soothing notes of music being played from the girl's room had stirred CC awake after a few minutes. She didn't realize that she had fallen asleep and felt bad that she left her daughter hanging. However, seeing as Sabrina was preoccupied with something else, her worries had dissipated. She felt the warmth of one of her blankets wrapped around her and held it close to her. Sabrina had wrapped it around CC after realizing she had fallen asleep, so she hadn't noticed it until now. The blonde sighed contently and slowly sat up on the couch. She closed her eyes listening to the soft music that was being played. In that moment, she felt like the luckiest woman on earth. She had a multi-talented daughter that she would one day show off to everyone she knew... including the gossiping, two-timing former classmates she went to Bryn Mar with. She was such a proud mother, and she didn't say it enough. After a moment, CC stood up from the couch and walked over to Sabrina's room where she was able to pry the door open quietly. She leaned against the doorframe and watched her daughter play the piano so graciously. She watched as Sabrina was about to finish, but she played the wrong key. It caused Sabrina to groan and put her hands on her face in exasperation. "You know, other than that key change, I'd say that composition was amazing," CC said from the door.
Sabrina turned her head abruptly to see her mother standing and watching her. She sighed and looked over at the notes that were scattered by the piano. "I wish. I don't think I'm ever gonna finish this song," she grumbled ripping up some of the papers.
The older woman walked inside her daughter's room and was distraught seeing Sabrina rip up the music sheets. "Honey, what are you doing? You don't need to waste that hard work away," she said as she sat on the bench next to Sabrina.
"That wasn't remotely close to my hard work. Those were just my drafts that I jotted down earlier. My hard work is right here," Sabrina said holding up a stack of freshly written music sheets. "All I need are some lyrics and a key change, and I think I should be good."
"You don't have any lyrics yet?" CC asked to which she saw her daughter shake her head in response. "Isn't songwriting usually done the other way around?"
"Not in my case. I compose before anything," Sabrina said writing some notes down on the sheet in front of her. "Although just now, I was just playing spontaneously. Nothing's really set in stone."
"Well... I must say that spontaneous music you were composing just now was beautiful, baby," CC said pulling her into her arms. Every time she complimented Sabrina, the younger girl would always react grateful. Sabrina felt herself blush and shake her head. "Oh come on, don't be so hard on yourself," she added placing her hands on Sabrina's shoulders.
"I can't help it. It's so much pressure on me," Sabrina started off. She reached to grab one of CC's hands clutching onto it. "Ever since I was 10, I was always pushed over my limits to do things that a normal child wouldn't do. Like.. acting out obscene scenes in films.. starting off smoking and drinking at 14.. and if my songs weren't perfect, I was threatened financial action and my career being taken away from me." She sighed heavily and moved to let her mother hold her. "Can I be honest with you about something, Mom? I just don't want you to judge me, okay?"
"Baby, you can tell me absolutely anything, and I won't judge you for it," CC said smiling endearingly at her daughter. She loved her enough to where she could be honest with her, but also teach her important lessons when need be. "What is it?"
Sabrina sighed and squeezed her mother's hand hoping that she wouldn't be disappointed. "The truth is..." she nervously paused and took a deep breath before adding, "I hate being famous."
Those words made CC widen her eyes back away from Sabrina. "You little shit," CC said in shock. This was the last thing she wanted to hear come out of her daughter's mouth.
"Excuse me?" Sabrina asked feeling offended by her mother's response to her vulnerability.
"Oh honey, you cannot be serious, right?" CC inquired. "You live in the limelight. That's every girl's dream! You have that as your reality!"
"I am serious," Sabrina snapped back. "Just because I live in it doesn't mean I love it."
Her mother sighed heavily hearing that. "Darling.. every generation of Babcock women has a title to their name whether it was royalty or fame, and seeing that my baby resents this does not make me happy. You work too damn hard with your career. Do you realize that you're spitting back in your own face, mine, Bernie's, your extended family's, and everyone else you've known?"
"I've been working since I was 10. If you had known me back then, would you continually pressure me into doing projects when all I wanted to do was to live a normal life? Oh wait. You would. You know why? Because you don't care about little children to begin with," Sabrina huffed and crossed her arms.
"Oh my good god. You wanted this career!" CC threw her hands in the air out of annoyance. "You practically begged your own agent to getting you into show business!"
"I made a mistake!" Sabrina bit her lip feeling tears well up in her eyes. She lowered her head shamefully not wanting to look CC in the eyes. "I was a naïve child, just like everyone else. I thought being famous would be fun and carefree. It just got me into so much hot water.." She ran her fingers through her hair, clutching onto it tightly. "Because of the foster care and the fame, I missed out on opportunities to have a childhood. It just got stripped away so quickly. After I found out what fame was like, I was begging to just be a normal kid." She felt some more tears prick through her eyes.
CC heavily sighed. Suddenly she felt guilty. Her old, ruthless personality came out in front of her daughter and she completely shot herself in the foot for that. Seeing that Sabrina's head was still covered, CC tried to lift it up to face her. "Sabrina.." She didn't budge. "Baby. Look at me."
"I thought you said you wouldn't judge me." Sabrina still kept her head down until she felt the gentle touch of her mother's fingers slowly lift her head up to face hers. With some tears on her face, CC noticed them and wiped them gently off of her face. "You don't know how hard life is for me. I'm so misunderstood."
In that moment, CC remembered a similar moment that happened when Fran was comforting her in the Sheffield house bathroom. CC was jealous of her father spending more time with the nanny and she expressed that people misunderstood her all the time. Seeing that it was a sort of deja vu moment, she expressed her sympathy for her daughter and felt horrible at the way she reacted in the first place. In addition to that, she was consistently misunderstood every day when she was working and interacting with everyone else in the house. She had reasons for chasing after Maxwell that were not spoken aloud and others were calling her out for the wrong reasons. "I know exactly what it feels like to be misunderstood.." she said quietly trying to console her.
"I just.." Sabrina started out but paused. Her words earlier didn't make her mother react the way she wanted her to, so if she said any more, she'd truly be in more hot water. "Never mind."
"No, no," CC mused shaking her head and holding her daughter's face in her hands gently. "It was wrong of me to react that way. I'm sorry. My own greed and pride got in the way." She pulled the younger girl into a hug trying to silently apologize to her. Sabrina didn't immediately hug her back for a moment, but she eventually did. She couldn't resist that comfort. "I promise you that you can tell me anything."
Sabrina bit her bottom lip and stayed in CC's arms for a little while longer. After a moment, she took a deep breath and then looked her mother square in the eyes saying, "I want to retire from show business when West Side Story is over." CC held her tongue and tried so hard not to get upset with that bold statement. But maybe Sabrina had her reasons for it. She poured her heart and soul out as to why she hated fame, so it probably linked with eventually retiring. "If I had my way, I probably would've quit by now, but I am a firm believer that once you start something, you should always finish what you started and not quit."
"Spoken like a true warrior." CC moved a strand of hair away from Sabrina's face and then asked, "What would be your plans for retirement? Have you had time to think about that?"
"I didn't before, but.. ever since I came here, I do now." The younger girl fidgeted her fingers anxiously. "I'm thinking to just... be with family once I retire," Sabrina said looking up at CC and smiling. "And by that I mean... spending more time with you."
"Oh baby, you don't have to retire because of me," she said chuckling and shaking her head. CC couldn't help but smile back at her daughter's selflessness. "Give yourself a real reason to retire. I'm not that good of an excuse."
"But you are. I've missed out almost 20 long years of memories that I could've had with you, and now that I have the chance, I want to try and make as much time up as I can before it's too late." Sabrina let out a long sigh. "Plus, show business is so exhausting.. and I've earned a substantial income to fend for myself for the rest of my life."
"Don't you think you need to keep building up your savings, though? You're only 19, and you won't have any other means of income when you retire," she said with concern.
"Oh please. I'm a Babcock! How much is our entire family worth again? Like.. 80 million?" Sabrina asked curiously.
CC tried so hard to hold in her laughter at that statement. "Watch it, crotch gremlin. Don't try to weasel your way into the trust fund early," she said pointing at her slightly sternly.
"I don't need to. I'll be on your will! I know I'm taken care of financially, even if heaven forbid all of my retirement funds run out."
"You keep talking like that, young lady, and your name won't be anywhere on my will." CC chuckled and shook her head. "God, you really are mine, aren't you?"
"I am, and I wouldn't have it any other way," the younger girl replied and leaned her head on her mother's shoulder.
With that, CC burst into laughter. Sabrina was being completely open and honest, and CC found that extremely touching, yet amusing at the same time. "You are such a liar," she mused and reached over to plant a kiss on her daughter's cheek leaving a red lipstick mark. "I love you anyway. But seriously, you're done pulling my leg for today."
"Love you too," the teenager mumbled in response before her eyes went wide. They had been talking for what seemed like hours, and Sabrina had forgotten about something important. "What time is it?"
"It's almost 8. Why?" CC asked not knowing why her daughter reacted like that. All of a sudden, Sabrina quickly got up from the piano bench and rushed to the living room where she turned on the TV and greeted the delivery person that gave them their Chinese takeout. "Mom, where's your Spanish channel?" her daughter called out from the living room.
CC followed suit after a while wanting to know why Sabrina became so anxious all of a sudden. When her daughter asked her about the Spanish channel, she got even more confused. Why would Sabrina be watching the Spanish channel to begin with? "Telenovela is channel 43... I think?" CC guessed as she fumbled with their dinner that was sitting on the coffee table. "Why?"
"My favorite show's on at 8, and I cannot miss this new episode," Sabrina said as she gathered her own food. Seeing that CC was going to have some of the Chinese takeout, Sabrina furrowed her eyebrows. "Why are you eating that? Aren't you on that Jenny Craig liquid diet?"
"Not anymore. I paid 50 a month just to gain 15 more pounds. It was a total rip off," CC said as she put together a plate of her own food eating a piece of chicken. "Anyways, what show on the Spanish channel could you possibly be intrigued by so much?"
"It's a soap opera called Mi Corazón Se Detuvo. My Heart Stood Still," Sabrina said turning up the volume on the TV and sitting next to her mother. "It's about this couple, Pedro and Carmencita. Pedro's father, Papa, runs a drug cartel and they've been on the run from the authorities since the beginning of season 10. Carmencita, however, is an undercover cop who doesn't know that Pedro is related to a drug kingpin. It's a story of forbidden love and ass kicking." Seeing that the show started, Sabrina grabbed her plate of food and sat back on the couch eating happily.
"Aren't you going to turn on closed captioning?" CC asked as she took the remote and did that since she didn't understand Spanish. Sabrina simply just shook her head. "How do you understand what they're saying?"
"Mom, I lived with two Mexican women for the past 11 years of my life. I can speak, read, and understand fluent Spanish, so there's no need for closed captioning." She giggled and continued to eat her dinner. "Abuelita actually played this show for years every time I would come home from the set. She'd always have the channel on for background noise whenever she was doing chores around the house. Eventually, I got so hooked onto this show.. well.. that wasn't the only thing I got hooked on.." Sabrina leaned back into the couch taking in the sight of the Mexican actor that was on the TV screen. She slowly ate her food. "That's Javier Escobar.. he plays Pedro. He is a god."
CC grew concerned at her daughter's behavior towards the actor on the screen. She smacked her daughter's arm lightly and turned to face the TV. "Honey, pay attention to the- holy shit." CC's eyes became fixated on the same Spanish actor. "The man is built like Hercules." Soon, they both had the same reaction towards that actor and they eventually both leaned back on the couch slowly eating their food. Eventually, he was off the screen and they both got out of their trances. "You weren't kidding!"
"Told you!" Sabrina set her plate of food down and said, "I would honestly kill to be in a room with him alone for longer than an hour.."
"You will not be in a room alone with any man longer than an hour," CC shot back at her daughter staring her down. "Focus on your youth while you still have it. I don't want any grandbabies before I turn 40."
"Hey. I'd rather be with him alone in a room rather than that kid... Burton? Brandon? What's his name again, Mom?" Sabrina asked, referring to Brighton who had been consistently flirting with her every time she was around the Sheffield house.
Oh my lord. If someone asked us to take a DNA test, this would be it.. not that we really need one, CC thought to herself holding back laughter. Being infamous for butchering Maxwell's children's names, she had quickly noticed that the apple didn't fall too far from the tree. "Just eat the rest of your dinner, baby," she replied chuckling to herself. Sabrina just shrugged her shoulders in response to that and continued to eat the food.
After a couple of hours watching the same soap opera over and over, Sabrina eventually fell asleep on the couch. This time, it was CC's turn to comfort her. She got up from the couch and cleaned up the rest of the takeout that they had left over. Soon after the living room and kitchen was cleaned up, CC walked back over to where Sabrina was sleeping and took the blanket she had used earlier when she took a nap and wrapped it around her. She would've woken her by now, but seeing that she was comfortable, CC decided to let her sleep there until she was ready to go back to her own room. Plus, the day had worn her out, so she was looking forward to having some time alone. Before heading off to her room, she leaned in to kiss her daughter's forehead and smoothed out her hair making sure she was comfortable. Once she got in her room, she began to start her jacuzzi tub and added some rose petals and bath salts. CC was in need of a therapeutic bath for the past three to four months, and this probably was her only chance that she was able to relax on her own for the first time in a long time. She stepped in and laid her head on the edge of the tub, closing her eyes and basking in the quiet environment she was in. She could feel every inch of her stress slip away from her body in that very moment.. or so she thought.
Why can't I get this out of my head? All CC could think about was the overwhelming possibilities of letting down her daughter, especially the fact that she refused to speak up about Sabrina's father. She already felt like she let her down by telling her to never ask about him again, but it also hurt her to see Sabrina, eager about her family history, being refused information about him. Ever since her daughter re-entered her life, her goal was to try and make her as happy as possible. In fact, she was so selfless to the point where her daughter always came first, and her own feelings had been put on the back burner, something that CC never did before Sabrina came along. Her care for others was essentially nonexistent because of the hurts and hang-ups that she was put through for years. Again, CC found that life was cursing her before her very eyes because she gave away Sabrina two hours after she was born. It was one of the main reasons why she was so cold-hearted and selfish for a good majority of her life. If she had things her way back then, she easily would've won Sabrina's father over and had a family of her own. Of course, that never happened. In the back of her mind, she realized that maybe the reason why she was feeling so stressed out was because she was eager to tell someone about her past. About everything. Hiding the truth seemed like a good idea for years, and it never phased her. However, once she became a mother again, the idea just kept eating her alive every day that passed her by. This was her instincts telling her to set an example for her baby, even when she wasn't looking.
Hopping out of the tub, CC grabbed a robe and wrapped her nude body in it and walked out into her bedroom grabbing one of her landline phones. She dialed a number and held it to her ear, hoping that someone would answer her call so she could vent. Deep down, she was hoping that someone would be Maxwell.
Back at the Sheffield residence, the house was quiet. It was late at night, and Fran and the family had gone out to a special event, leaving Niles home alone.. once again. This was typical of them to leave Niles in the house where he could finish his nightly duties and finally retire for the night. However, on certain nights, he would lounge around smoking one of Maxwell's cigars and having his brandy.. ergo this night was one of them. For some reason, he too was quite tired and frustrated of being stuck alone like a dog. Since he had spent the majority of his day tending for the family, he didn't feel up to answering any doors, calls, or other services... up until the phone rang. "Bloody hell.." he muttered under his breath letting the phone ring more. "Someone get the damn phone!" He shouted knowing there was nobody else in the house to help him. After the third or fourth ring, Niles sighed heavily and got up from the couch walking over to the landline. He finally picked it up and grumbled, "Sheffield residence."
The moment she heard Niles' voice on the other line, CC groaned not wanting to speak with him at the moment. "Benson, where's Maxwell? I need to have a serious talk with him," she instantly snapped.
Niles heavily sighed hearing the woman's voice on the other line. What in God's name could she be calling about at this late hour? "Oh, hello, Niles! How is your night, Niles? Did you have a nice day, Niles?" he shot back mocking her tone. "Don't you properly know how to greet a human being nowadays? Besides, he, Miss Fine, and the children all went to a premiere tonight and won't be back until late."
CC rolled her eyes heavily hearing the sassy butler over the phone. Of course she knew how to greet people, she just didn't feel like it this late at night. "I could've just said put the cigar and brandy down, because Maxwell will be coming home early, but I decided to be nice for once." He's out again? With the children and that... nanny? Again?! Could it have killed him to tell me these things? she thought in exasperation.
"Oh you're a real saint," Niles sarcastically replied. After a moment, he sighed and then finally asked, "What is it that you need to talk to Mr. Sheffield about anyways?"
"What's it to you?" CC huffed. "Some of my matters with Maxwell are private, and what I'm calling about is one of them.. in fact it's quite overdue."
"Miss Babcock, do you not know me at all?" Even if CC did plan on saying anything private, Niles would've eventually found out within a matter of minutes. He had his way of prying into conversations. "Even if you were to tell Mr. Sheffield about your private matters, I would find out eventually. Maybe you should just tell me what's on your mind right now to save yourself the trouble."
CC chuckled infamously hearing that Niles wanted to hear her private matters. "What in God's name makes you think I can trust you with my personal life? You'll easily blab to Nanny Fine or someone about it! You can't go an entire day without spilling secrets or else it just crushes your pathetic domestic soul."
At this point, Niles didn't feel like messing around. Having paid attention to CC's mannerisms lately, he saw that she was feeling less haughty and more sensitive. He took a deep breath and then finally spoke out. "Maybe because you haven't been yourself lately." Those words made CC's smile fall. "Miss Babcock, ever since you started taking care of Miss Sabrina, you've truly grown soft, but also quite depressed. Plus, I've noticed the behaviors that emanate you from her. It's just that she's turned you into a completely different person, and that shows when you're working. It's almost like the old Miss Babcock that was repulsed by anyone that stood in her way is dead." He took a moment to let CC intervene, but she didn't. Everything he was saying was right, and she couldn't deny it.
"She's not 100% dead. I can guarantee you that," CC snarled thinking about the man on the other end of the phone and the nasal nanny that interfered with her chances to be with Maxwell. "Anyways.. what's your point?"
"My point is.. you seem to care very greatly about young Sabrina. Almost like she became a newfound staple in your life." Niles took some time to rethink his words because that wasn't the only point he thought of. "Also.. I know this may seem out of the ordinary, and this would probably be the last thing you'd expect to hear coming from me but... Miss Babcock, I care very highly about you. Yes, we continually barb and banter with one another, and you get on my nerves like no other... but that's what makes it all work. If you share anything that is of a personal value to you, I promise that I won't say a word to anyone else."
CC was rendered speechless with what Niles had just told her. He cared about her? Since when? With all of the horrible things he had said and done over the years, it was impossible to believe. However, the reason why she called was to vent to Maxwell.. in this case, nobody else was around to talk to except Niles. He was the last person she wanted to hear about this, but it seemed as if she had no choice. She had heavy burdens that she had carried for a long time, and it was best to set the truth free, even if it wasn't to the right person at the right time. Eventually, the time would have to come around, but for now, she had to rely on the ear of a servant. "Okay," she started out sternly. "I want you to listen to me, and listen to me good. What I am about to tell you is something that nobody else in the world knows.. not even my parents, my siblings, colleagues, and um... friends. When I say this is my biggest secret, it truly is my biggest secret. I am putting my trust in the hands of the biggest yenta in the universe, so if you tell anyone about this, I swear to god, Niles.. I will never speak to you again and you will be living off of the streets for the rest of your pathetic life. Am I making myself clear enough for you?" At that point, CC felt tears prick through her eyes. She had never been so nervous in her life to share her story to anyone else except Sabrina. At least Sabrina was family, but this was Niles. She hated him, and he hated her. How would she know if he were to betray her trust right away?
Niles swallowed at the intensity in CC's voice laying down her seriousness about this secret. He knew she would be harsh and hostile on him, but the tone in her voice was different compared to what he would hear from her in the past. There was a sense of vulnerability and sensitivity that he never heard from the egocentric blonde before. His heart sank as he thought he could hear muffled sobs from the other end of the line. He knew that he would definitely be crossing a line if he were to blab to anyone, and CC hadn't even told him her secret yet. After letting her have a moment to be emotional, he finally spoke up. "I promise, Miss Babcock. I won't say anything. You have my word and my trust."
After Niles' sincere response, she knew that he wasn't going to play games or joke around with her about this ordeal. Tears fell down from her eyes and her hands were shaking from how frightened she was. She let out a couple of shaky breaths before she turned her head to look at her dresser. On top of there was a pile of polaroid pictures she and Sabrina took together the past couple of weeks. She reached over to grab them and looked over at them smiling. All of her nerves and feelings of being mortified had disappeared by seeing the happiness that was in those photos of her and her daughter. She truly made her feel happier and much better, even when she wasn't around to comfort her. As she glanced at the pictures, CC finally said, "Sabrina's my daughter, Niles."
What came next for Niles was something he would've never expected to hear from her. CC Babcock, the snide, arrogant, egocentric, pessimistic socialite was... a mother? No. This was impossible. How old was she again? Close to 40? How could 19 year old Sabrina be her daughter? He needed more evidence, because her just stating that Sabrina was hers was not enough. "I beg your pardon..?" he finally managed to blurt out after moments of thinking about this situation. "You... you're seriously her mother? You.. gave birth to her?"
"Niles... do you remember back in the late 70's... when I resigned for six months?" CC asked him, hoping that would trigger his memory. "Where did you think I was during that time?"
That memory in 1978 immediately got him thinking once again. "Well.. you said that you were going to Europe for business, and you wouldn't be back until the next year... am I correct?" he asked curiously.
"Wrong," CC flatly stated still looking over at the new pictures her and her baby took. "Well.. you're right, but.. I lied. That's what I said I was going to do. In reality, I moved to upstate New York to go through the rest of my second and third trimesters of pregnancy, I gave birth in June, and I went through postpartum depression.. all throughout those months that I claimed to be doing business in Europe."
"Miss Babcock.. I.." At this point, it was Niles that was rendered speechless. He couldn't possibly believe right away that CC was pregnant during that time. From the way she interacted with children, he never thought she'd have any children of her own. He needed to hear more of her story to understand. Surely she couldn't have known Sabrina her whole life. "I don't understand.."
"Nobody understands. Don't worry," CC said. She went on to explain everything. From the time she had an affair, to when she got pregnant, to when she had to give her baby away. For some reason, CC actually felt comfortable explaining her story to Niles, even though she felt like she shouldn't. He was attentive and listened to every little detail. After a while of telling her story about Sabrina, she said, "I don't think I've ever felt this way before, Niles." She paused still looking at her photos. "I've never really experienced any kind of love.. until my daughter came back into my life. I guess now I know what a mother's love really is. I sure as hell don't deserve it, but I keep receiving it on a daily basis. Who would've thought that she would just randomly be casted in this musical so many years later? After she was given away.. I thought I'd never see her again." She paused taking a moment to compose herself once again. She was already emotional enough and couldn't bear to cry again. "I just.. I know I need to tell her father soon. I don't know how to bring this up to him without conflict."
Everything started to make more sense to him now. This was the reason why CC was so cold, why she hated children, why she was chasing after the father of her child, everything. All CC wanted was a family of her own, and she never got that chance. Even though her actions back then were not good at all, he still felt sympathetic towards her. She was only looking to make her baby happy. "Well you certainly can't leave him in the dark like this for so long," Niles added. "He deserves to know about his daughter. Nearly 20 years without knowledge is a long time. And.. she deserves to know about her father." He took a moment to think and then finally asked, "Who is Miss Sabrina's father.. if I may ask?"
CC felt her heart rate rise at that question. All she could picture was Sabrina asking who her father was, and she deserved to know despite CC telling her she couldn't. But she just wasn't prepared for that moment. It was already difficult enough attempting to tell him the news to begin with, so she imagined this situation to be harder on her baby. After all of the times where she had bonded with her daughter the past few months, she couldn't bear on losing her with the news of her father. She couldn't bear losing her ever again. CC finally found her tongue when she looked over at the photos again.. seeing traces of the girl's father in her. "Sabrina's father is.."
At that moment, Sabrina felt herself wake up. She looked around the room and noticed that everything was cleaned up and the TV was turned off. Her mother's blanket was wrapped around her for comfort so she could sleep. She sat up after a while and looked around her noticing that it had gotten darker in the penthouse since she and CC were watching the Spanish soap operas. She looked over at the clock figuring out what time it was, and it was certainly time to fall back asleep. Sabrina slowly got up from the couch and went to walk to the guest room, but her mother's soft voice drew her attention. She walked closer to CC's room wanting to listen in on what she was talking about.
"I've tried to get his attention with this topic many times. Every time though, something happens and I'm unable to finish what I started," CC said over the phone. Sabrina was peeking through the slightly opened door to her mother's room, where she caught a glimpse of her on the phone. "I almost told him the other night.. but that opportunity slipped away." She paused to let Niles talk to her more. Sabrina witnessed her mother looking over at the photos of them together, and she noticed how quickly it was able to make her smile. Seeing that genuine reaction made the girl choke up in tears. "Niles.. if something ever happens to me one day.. could you please watch over my baby?" She asked him over the phone. "Make sure she's safe and not alone." She then felt those shaky breaths come back with the emotions attached to them. "I don't want her to end up like me."
It was a bit of a long pause before Niles managed to respond back. "I'll do everything I can to make sure she's in good hands," he told her. CC sighed in relief hearing that response from him. She thanked him profusely seeing that he didn't judge her for any of the actions that she had taken to protect her daughter from harm. Although she did feel that it was harmful still keeping Sabrina's father's identity a secret. One of these days, she promised herself she would muster up her courage and tell him. She'd do anything for her daughter, no matter what the cost would be. CC thanked Niles again for listening to her for the past hour. She never thought that the decrepit butler would have any sort of heart for hearing her guilt and vulnerability. After hanging up the phone, she buried her face in her hands letting out all of the hurt she was feeling in that moment.
Sabrina quickly rushed away from the door to her mother's room back to her own room and changed into her pajamas. She saw this as an opportunity to comfort CC, and she couldn't possibly let her be alone tonight. Seeing the way she was talking to Niles made her wonder what they had been talking about the past hour. However, that was topic was to be saved for another time. She waited to give CC and adequate amount of time to prepare herself to retire for the night as well. After a few minutes, she walked back to her mother's room and slowly opened the door. CC was curled up in her blankets by that point in time, and it seemed as if she was already sleeping, but she was not. Sabrina walked over to the other side of her bed and laid down next to her mother. Feeling that CC was under stress, Sabrina wrapped her arms around her mother protectively. If the photos she had of them made her smile, surely this maneuver would calm her down. "I love you," the young girl whispered to her mother placing a kiss on her cheek. "It's okay."
CC could hear her baby, even though her eyes were closed and she was in a semi-conscious state. Her arms wrapped around her daughter letting her know that she silently appreciated her comfort and returned the love. From that point on, Sabrina refused to leave her mother's side. This time, it was her turn to show her protection, seeing that CC was depressed and hurt from her past. After hearing some of the things she told Niles, Sabrina wanted to show that she could protect her mother too. It wasn't much that she did, but it did have an impact on her seeing how her mother reacted. She felt so blessed and lucky to have this opportunity. Back then, she never thought in her wildest dreams that this moment would be shared. But now that she was here, she lived for these moments with every chance she got.