Author's Note: I firstly want to apologize from the bottom of my heart. I have not updated this story like usual, and I have to admit that I did lose track and muse for a while. I want to thank those who have read this story continuously time after time and for those who have reviewed it over the past couple of months. It's safe to say that this story is DEFINITELY not over :) Please stick around for the rest of this story! As of now, the end of this story is indefinite. It is going to be quite long XD As always, please leave a review, like, follow, etc. I love you all, and thank you so much again for tuning into this story!
Disclaimer: Please see previous chapters.
The sun shone through CC's bedroom on a bright Saturday morning. Today was the day that Niles was planning on proposing to the love of his life and to take one step closer into making CC Babcock his wife. He had talked to Sabrina about how he planned out the day and how he had wanted it to go. He was going to have Sabrina convince CC to spend the day with her getting her nails done, going shopping for a dress, and later meeting Niles at Central Park, where he would showcase a slideshow of all the candid pictures that were taken of them together. It would hopefully all end with Niles presenting CC a 24-karat diamond ring to her for marriage.. and of course, her acceptance. It was safe to say that Niles was nervous for the day to start, but he decided that it would be best to stay in bed with his love for a little while. Holding her in his arms was such an amazing feeling. He had been dreaming about moments like this for years and wasn't planning on letting her go.
However, it seemed like CC needed to be let go at the moment.
"Oh God.." the blonde groaned as she got up feeling completely nauseous in the pit of her stomach. She threw the covers back from her bed off of her and got up as quickly as she could. She could feel a wave of sickness rush over her as she dashed to her bathroom. Once she got to the bathroom, she nearly slammed the door shut and leaned over her toilet to throw up. CC couldn't remember the last time she felt this sick, but that was only because her mind was clouded with the fact that she had just woken up and couldn't think straight.
Niles had heard her rush to the bathroom, which made him wake up with just as much concern as CC had. "CC..?" he called out to her. She couldn't respond to Niles. The sounds of her coughing and hurling made him grow worried. "Darling, are you alright..?"
After a little bit of time to recover from leaning over to throw up. CC raised her head and angrily shouted, "Seriously!? Does it sound like I'm alright to you!?"
He knew he needed to intervene at that moment since he heard the anger and frustration in her voice. Opening the door, he caught CC sitting and leaning against the wall covering her face as she tried to cover up the tears that had formed in her eyes. Niles took matters into his own hands and cleaned up the remains in the bathroom before he pulled CC up for a hug. He held her tightly for a moment in his arms to make sure that she would calm down. "Don't worry, love, it's alright," he said to her softly while she buried her face in his shoulder. He had never seen her this distraught in a long time and wanted to make sure that she was taken care of properly.
CC sniffled before she perked herself up and gazed at him with some tears in her eyes. The former butler was gentle with his touch, using his thumb to wipe away the tears falling from her eyes. "I'm sorry," the blonde apologized to her lover. "I haven't felt this sick to my stomach since..." CC took a moment to think about a time when she had felt so nauseous in the morning. "Since..." she repeated again and then looked over at Niles. The past few weeks had been nothing but a honeymoon phase for the both of them, and that could only mean one thing was happening. "Oh no.." CC widened her eyes in realization.
Niles narrowed his eyes to his lover, not understanding what her sudden reaction of fear was indicating. "What are you on about?" he asked her. He tried to think of some situations that may have startled her and caused a slight panic attack. "You don't start your new production meeting until this weekend, and the dog has been fed... Sabrina didn't make kibble for you, but it did the trick," he teased her, which earned him a slap on the arm.
"Shut up, Lemon Bowl Fresh. I'm not in the mood for that," CC snapped back at him angrily. "Besides, that's not what I'm talking about. It's been almost two months, and I'm late.." she thought aloud nervously.
"Late?" Niles asked, still not understanding what her point was.
"My monthly gift, dumbass!" she shouted before looking around to make sure she didn't wake up or gain the attention of her daughter, who was still in the penthouse. After realizing she didn't hear anything coming from her, she leaned into Niles and said quietly, "I might be pregnant.."
Once he finally heard what CC had to say, he reflected the same reaction that CC had earlier. "Pregnant..?" he asked in just as much fear as she was in before. He couldn't have imagined himself at this point in time. Was he even ready to be a father? Was CC even ready to face pregnancy again 20 years after giving birth to her first child? Did she even remember what pregnancy felt like? "Oh God... well... I think it's best for you not to wait any further, love," Niles said thinking aloud and pacing back and forth in the room. "Don't you have a test that you keep in the cabinet?"
CC knelt down to the cabinet that was beneath her sink and opened it quickly. "I think I do.. I can't remember the last time I had to take one of these.. it's been ages," she mumbled as her hands rummaged through all of the medication that was kept underneath the sink. It took her a while before she located an old box that had already been opened. It was supposed to be a pack of three pregnancy tests, but it seemed like two had already been taken. There was only one clean test left, and she was willing to take that. She pulled it out of the box and quickly discarded the box that was there. "Aha! Perfect.." she stood up and then glanced at Niles, who was still standing in the bathroom with her. "Why are you still standing here? Get out so I can take my test!" she commanded before he immediately followed her request. She quickly slammed the door behind her and leaned against the door for a moment. She took another look at the test in front of her and took a deep breath. This would essentially determine the future she was about to have.
Niles also leaned against the door nervously. He knew that they didn't use protection the entire time they were stuck in their honeymoon phase, but he thought in the back of his mind that CC was taking birth control. She had informed him of that a while back, but he couldn't remember how often she had taken the medication. They had been intimate for a good majority of their time together that they barely had any time to focus on what the real world was offering. His thoughts continued to race as CC was taking the test. One of the most common questions he asked himself was: was he too old to be a father? Of course, he was the definite father figure for Sabrina, but he wasn't sure if he was ready to take on new life coming into the world.
After about ten minutes worth of agony for Niles waiting, the door to the bathroom opened. He didn't expect for it to happen, so he found himself nearly falling because of it. He cried out in shock before CC grabbed him, preventing him from falling. He then took a deep breath and sighed in relief that CC was able to catch him before things could've gone disastrous. "Oh my God.." he breathed in relief.
"What the hell, Niles? You could've crushed me if I didn't have the reflexes to keep you from falling," CC grumbled as she pushed him back up to his feet, having Niles assist her in letting himself up too. He placed his hand on his chest trying to compose himself, but CC wasn't having any of it. "Stop being dramatic, Hazel. You're fine," she said as she turned him around carrying the pregnancy test in her other hand.
"At least I would've been saved by the elephant in the room," Niles quipped, which earned him a glare from the blonde. That immediately made him stop from further banter as they both had a bigger situation to deal with. "Sorry.. force of habit," he added before his demeanor turned serious. "So.. what happened? What's the verdict?"
"I didn't look at it yet... I can't..." CC hesitated nervously gripping the pregnancy test. "I was thinking we could find out together," she suggested with pleading eyes.
Niles could sense the vulnerability in her eyes, and he immediately understood her pleas. He didn't want her to find out alone as they both were in the midst of seeing whether they would become parents or not. "Alright.. on the count of three.. you can show us the test," he suggested and she nodded her head in return. "One... two..."
"Three," they both said. The blonde took a deep breath before she raised the pregnancy test in her hand to show the both of them the result. Once the test was in both of their sights, they were shocked to find a small pink plus sign in the middle. This did indeed confirm that CC was pregnant, and they both looked at each other with wide eyes. "Positive," they both said to each other.
CC didn't have time to process the result of her test, but at the same time, she was in complete disbelief. "No. No, this can't be!" CC said in a panic as she dropped the test on the bathroom counter. "You and I both know I'm on the pill. It's impossible.."
"Birth control doesn't have a 100% prevention. This could be a confirmed positive case," Niles suggested as CC then knelt down to find the discarded pregnancy test box that she had thrown out earlier. She tried to search for evidence that the test was false, but had no luck at first. After a minute of searching, she finally realized one little detail on the box: the expiration date.
"It's expired!" she said as she pointed to the date to show Niles. "Expired pregnancy tests are never accurate! How could I have missed that before?" she said before discarding the box again. "See? False positive. I think we're okay.." she let out a sigh of relief, but Niles wasn't having it. He couldn't possibly just shrug this off when there was still a chance that she could be pregnant.
"I think we should still go to the doctor's," he suggested to her, which made her smile fall. "I know it's not what you intended to plan, but you could still possibly be pregnant. Just because the test was expired and the result had come up positive doesn't mean that it's an entirely false positive. You should go to the doctor's to get some blood work done and some further tests just to make sure. We can't just ignore something like this.. and I will go with you so you're not alone.."
The annoying former butler did still have a point. CC had taken a moment to think about the reaction she just had. She was moving her assumptions too fast when she had not been sure whether she was pregnant or not. The false positive was just another indication that she should have further tests be done. Plus, Niles had offered to tag along with her during their visit, so having him by her side made her feel a little bit better about this situation. She wouldn't imagine the father of her second child to be anybody else but him. After a moment of recollection, she nodded her head confirming that they were going. "Alright... let's head out and get this over with."
The wait at the doctor's office had been painfully long, from the check in to the initial tests done by the nurses. No matter what was going on, Niles was always there for CC and he had never left her side. He had made sure that she was taken care of from the moment that they had entered the doctor's office. In all truthfulness, CC hated going to the doctor's. She was not one to be around places where germs were infested and she had the possibility of catching diseases she never had before. However, being with Niles made all of her worries disappear. She went through every procedure that was requested to get the tests needed to confirm that she was pregnant. Once the doctors had gathered all of their samples, it was now time to play the waiting game.
Grabbing ahold of her hand, Niles looked over at CC and asked, "What do you think? Of the possibility of having another child?" He wanted to know her honest answer and could tell she was feeling a little uneasy about the entire situation.
All CC could do in response was shake her head at first. She truthfully didn't know what to think. How could she possibly take into account of having another baby when she barely raised her first born child? Hesitating to respond, a tear fell from her eye. Niles immediately stood up and wrapped his arms around her trying to comfort her to the best of his abilities. CC let out quiet sobs into his shoulders as he continued to rub her back and reassure her that things were going to be okay. After a moment, she looked into his eyes with fear in her own. "I don't know, Niles," she started off. "How can I be a mother to another child when I was never there for my first born?" Just the thought of letting Sabrina go nearly made her break down. Her daughter was the love of her life, and she forever hated that she gave her up on impulse. "Sabrina just came into my life almost two years ago, and I've only just started to be a mother to her... what am I going to do if I do end up pregnant?"
Niles sighed and took ahold of her face in his hands gently. He began to wipe away the tears from her eyes softly which made her gaze into his eyes. "Just continue to be the amazing mother that you are," he said to her with sincerity. Yes, CC was only a mother for two years, but during those two years that she had Sabrina in her life, Niles thought she had grown into such a caring and loving mother for her daughter. Surely, she could do the same thing with another child. "Everything will come naturally.. it already has with Sabrina. I'm sure you'll be the same way with another child... and I will be there for them too," he said confirming that she wasn't going to be a single parent.
Hearing those touching words made CC blush. She smiled softly and nuzzled her cheek against his soft hand. He always knew the right words to say at the right time, and that was one of the things she had loved about him. In fact, that just made her love him even more. "I have no doubt in my mind you'd be there for them," she said leaning into his embrace. "I love you, Niles."
"And I love you," he responded bringing her in for a soft and tender kiss. Their lips lingered with one another's as the kiss turned from tender to slightly passionate. However, that passion was forgotten and the kiss was broken when the two heard a knock at the door. "Come in!" Niles said as he was still holding CC in his arms.
Doctor Jones had walked in with a bright smile on her face. It seemed as if the test results had shown something exciting and positive. "Hi, lovebirds!" she called out to them, knowing she caught them in the middle of them making out. "I have the blood work results back, and that at-home test was not false! It looks like you're going to have another baby!"
Those words were quite shocking for CC to hear, but after Niles' encouraging words, she wasn't feeling fearful about having another baby this time. The two beamed and sighed in relief, before they embraced each other. Their excitement was clear and obvious, but CC still was worried about Sabrina's reaction to this. She'd be 21 years old when this new baby would be born. "How far along do you think I am?" CC asked the doctor out of curiosity.
"From what we had researched in the lab work, it seems like you've been growing a bun in your oven for about six or seven weeks. It's safe to say you may experience nausea for a few more days before it dissipates," Doctor Jones said as she began to set up an ultrasound machine so she could conduct the final tests.
"Two months already?" Niles asked in quite a state of shock. He figured that CC would be pregnant, but he never thought that she would be close to being done with her first trimester.
"It is a little unbelievable at first, but from what we've seen on reports, it does confirm that amount of time," Doctor Jones said as she then made sure the machine was turned on. "When we do this ultrasound, I will show you the evidence. Alright, CC, could you please lift up your shirt?" she asked, to which CC sighed heavily and listened to her request, laying down on the cot as the doctor began to place some warm gel on her stomach. CC took a deep breath and Niles stayed beside her as they looked over at the screen to see any signs of life. It took a couple of minutes and tries before the doctor located where their seven week old baby was. "Alright, Mommy and Daddy, here's your baby!" she chimed as their attention drew to a small little speck on the screen. Both Niles and CC's eyes filled with tears.
"That's our baby.." Niles said trying not to choke on his tears as his grip on CC's hand had gotten stronger.
Our baby. All CC could do was cover her mouth with her free hand while tears came down from her eyes. She couldn't have been happier to see that the little baby was healthy and doing well. Seeing their baby for the first time and hearing the baby's heartbeat made CC feel a lot better about how this was going for her. She was going to have her second child and more so get a second chance at being a mother. She was also excited to keep this child and not give it up for adoption, knowing that Niles was already willing to step up to be a father to his baby. After a while of witnessing the beautiful sight before them, the two had requested sonogram photos of their child to keep before they were discharged. It was going to be quite a journey for the both of them.
About a half hour later, Niles and CC were finally discharged from the hospital and heading back to the penthouse. Both expectant parents couldn't wait to see where their journey could take them, however, even though CC was excited, she still needed to break the news to Sabrina. She was hoping deep down that Sabrina would accept her little sibling and wouldn't become jealous. She knew that Sabrina had grown attached to her, and she didn't want Sabrina to think that she would ignore her once the baby was born. As the two neared the entrance to her apartment, she turned to Niles and sighed heavily. "I guess this is it.." CC confirmed.
Niles looked over at her and gave her a soft smile. He wanted to reassure her that there would be nothing wrong with breaking the good news to her daughter. "Yes, now don't worry, love. Sabrina will be very thrilled to hear the news. Maybe her reaction not might be what we want at first, but she won't be upset with this. I can promise you that," he said to her lifting her hand to his lips to kiss it softly.
CC took out her key to her apartment and looked over at Niles, who was being so kind and caring to her in a time like this. They were going to be parents together, and she couldn't have imagined to be with anybody else with her pregnancy. She smiled softly hearing his kind words. "You need to chill out with the sentiments, Hazel," she said with a laugh. Just as she was about to open the door, she could hear a mixture of shouting and crying come from the other side of the door. Both Niles and CC grew concerned since they recognized the voice as Sabrina. "What the hell is going on?" she asked as she quickly opened the door. Both Niles and CC stormed in to find Sabrina on the phone with her former agent, Bernie.
For the past hour, Sabrina had been fighting with Bernie over the fact that she had told her she retired from show business a long time ago and that she did not want any more gigs or shows booked. Nonetheless, because of greed and pride being the two things that kept her going, Bernie continued to book her shows without her permission, causing some news headlines to break out that Sabrina was in hiding or didn't care about her fans. This caused some backlash against the poor girl, when in all reality, she was just retired and spending time with family. She hated that Bernie had to ruin her life like this. "I'm retired! How can you do this to me?! Now you're making me go on this talk show when I didn't do anything to hurt my fans!" Sabrina cried into the phone.
"Listen, amiga, I still run your shows whether you like it or not!" Bernie shouted back at her. "You have been nothing but a snide bitch for the past hour trying to tell me you're retired. No! You're not retired! You're still making your money just like any other celebrity!"
"I retired after West Side, and you know it!" Sabrina shouted back at her angrily. "How dare you try and control me like this!"
"We had an agreement that you'd retire when you turned 30, so you have no choice but to stick with me for nine more years. That means nine more years of shows and films that you cannot get away from, and NO ONE is going to stop me! I don't care who tries to help you. I will always win!" Bernie shouted back at her once again.
Hearing that made CC drop her purse that contained all of her belongings and rush to her daughter, who was in distress. Hearing Bernie diss and accuse her daughter on the other end of the phone made her extremely angry. She was not about to let this woman control her daughter's life, and she was going to make damn sure that she'd stay out of her life for good. "Give me the phone," CC said to Sabrina holding out her hand. Sabrina looked up at her mother teary-eyed and slowly handed the phone to CC. She was hoping that she would be her saving grace in this situation she found herself in with her former agent.
Once CC had the phone, Sabrina rushed to Niles and hugged him tightly crying into his shirt. "It's alright, darling. Your mother knows how to handle her.. she won't bother you ever again," Niles reassured the girl who continued to sob. He really felt for her, and he certainly did not like how Bernie was treating his daughter. If Bernie had been there in person, Niles would've definitely had butted heads with the woman, telling her to back off his daughter. But of course, he left all of that to CC as she was giving the other woman quite an earful.
"Listen up, amiga, this will be the last time you ever call this number and talk to my daughter, because our entire family is putting a restraining order on your ass. Sabrina told you she was retired and she meant it! If you ever call her or try to contact her in any way, shape, or form, I will have your ass sued and you will rot for the rest of your life. I am her mother, and you have no business in running her life. She's not your pawn," CC snapped back at Bernie. Bernie had not expected CC to be on the other line and to have witnessed their conversation, so she was rendered speechless at first. She wanted to make some sort of comeback, but unfortunately, she couldn't. CC had ahold of her daughter, and she wasn't about to let her go. "And by the way, consider yourself off of every one of her finances. She's going to be switching accounts soon and taking you off. You're on your own, amiga." With that, CC hung up the phone, not giving Bernie a chance to speak her mind. She didn't want to hear it. CC was done with her baby being treated like a slave. She sighed and placed the phone back on the holder before opening her arms to her daughter. "Come here, baby."
"Mom.." Sabrina cried as she moved from Niles to CC to hug her tightly. CC embraced her daughter and let Sabrina cry into her shirt. She knew what Sabrina had just gone through was nothing short of traumatizing. She couldn't believe that Bernie had the nerve to try and force her out of retirement, and she knew for a second that wasn't going to happen. Sabrina sniffled and closed her eyes knowing she was safe and that CC would have her legal team take care of everything.
"It's okay, sweetheart. She won't ever hurt you again. I made sure of that," CC said looking at Sabrina and wiping the tears from her eyes. "Oh, my poor baby.." She gave Sabrina a kiss on her cheek before pulling her in for another hug. She motioned for Niles to come by them so he could help console Sabrina. With both of her parents beside her, Sabrina truly felt safe and that she wasn't going to be used for anything she didn't want to participate in. She was happier now that they were home.
After a while of them consoling her, Niles and CC pulled away from her to give Sabrina her space. "I'm okay.." Sabrina reassured them with a smile. "Where did you go? You both have been gone for a while."
Both Niles and CC glanced over at each other, and they knew that it was time to break the news to her. Even though CC was unsure of how Sabrina would react, Niles had faith that Sabrina would manage to stay positive no matter what the case was going to be. "We went to the doctor's for a while," Niles said to her. "And there's something that your mother and I want to tell you."
"What do you want to tell me?" Sabrina asked them curiously. Before they could speak, Sabrina found a set of photos that were facing down on the floor that were right by her foot. "What's this..?" she asked before she picked up the pictures. She looked through the pictures and they appeared to be a set of sonogram photos that were taken at the doctor's office. Her face fell from a smile to a frown as she tried to pinpoint what they were. "Are these... ultrasound pictures?" she asked. Niles and CC didn't answer. They seemed to think that Sabrina had figured it out, but she was still looking through the pictures.
"Mom..?" Sabrina asked lowering the pictures from her view. "Are you... are you pregnant?" CC sighed and closed her eyes, not wanting to come clean. All of her worst fears were coming true, and the last thing she wanted was for her daughter to react differently to the news.
Sabrina was left speechless. She had no idea what to think about her mother being pregnant, especially when she knew she and the new baby would have a 21 year age gap. She looked down at her hands knowing that there was a possibility that she was now going to be the forgotten child of the family. This new baby would garner the attention of both Niles and CC (since it will be their biological child), and Sabrina would see herself spending less and less time with her mother. A twinge of jealousy had hit her, and she was not ready to face the truth of this situation. "I'm sorry.." Sabrina said after a while of silence. "I.. I need a moment alone.." she quickly rushed past both Niles and CC and went into her room, shutting the door behind her. Once she got inside her room, she felt tears coming through her eyes. She never thought she would see the day where CC would start to abandon her once again for her own family. Now that she had Niles, Sabrina thought that CC was going to ignore her and forget her presence. She loved her mother, and the last thing she wanted was to be forgotten for the second time by her. She was hoping that CC was not thinking this and that she would come to her senses to love both of her children no matter what the cost. Family was Sabrina's number one priority, and that was never going to change for her.