Chapter Five: How Did You Know

You found me

When no one else was looking

How did you know

Just where I would be?

"You...you what?" She asked.

"I love you. Can't you see that?" He replied.

"No, you teased me all the time and, and..." She stopped when the realization kicked in.

"I teased you because that's my way of showing affection, please Miss Babcock, believe me." He said. She looked deep into his eyes and knew he wasn't lying. She wet her lips and bit her bottom lip. She then noticed that he had a bruise under his left eye, that must have been where she hit him, she hadn't really looked, she just swung.

"Oh my God! I am so sorry!" She said as she released her hand from his and touched the place gently. He flinched when she touched it, but he loved how gentle she was and how soft her touch felt. He was then surprised when she felt her thumb slide slowly down his cheek and then she outlined his bottom lip with it. She then put her hand on his cheek and pulled his face closer to hers. When they were just inches apart, she whispered, "Kiss me." He pressed his lips to hers and kissed her. She had never been kissed quite like this before. It was sweet and slow, the other guys she'd kissed were nothing like this. Something was different about Niles, even though at first she had hated his guts, now she didn't want him to stop kissing her, or loving her, if he'd really meant what he said.

When they pulled away, both their eyes were wide. She had to blink a few times to get her composure back and he was trying to catch his breath. It was a few moments before either one of them could speak, all they could do was look into each others eyes.

"I love you Niles." C.C. said finally and he couldn't help but sigh with relief.

"I really do love you C.C. Babcock, no matter what I do or say to you, I really love you." He smiled, as did she. She wrapped her arms around his neck and she felt him snake his around her waist. She rested her forehead against his and closed her eyes. Through her mind flashed images of Colin, Chandler, Cody, and Cameron, but she couldn't pick out a single thing they were good at, except for lying to her. They all had said they loved her, but she had known it was just to get her to sleep with them and out of desperation, she had caved in, just like she had when she was a teenager to the first boy who showed her attention. Then something else came into her mind, the way her parents had fought when she was younger and how they'd divorced and forced her and her siblings back and forth between the two houses. She then shook her head and released her arms from his neck and removed his from her waist.

"No, I-I can't do this." She said as she stepped away and walked toward the window. She stared out at the New York City skyline. She then looked down to the street below her, oh how many times she'd wanted to just open the double windows and fall to the ground below, leaving this horrible form of existence behind her. She then felt Niles' hands on her shoulders she gasped at his touch. She watched their reflections as he moved a small bit of her robe away and her right shoulder was bare to him. He placed a light kiss on her shoulder and then rested his chin on it, and he wrapped his arms around her waist once more, he wasn't really sure how she'd react and he was shocked when she didn't resist.

"Look at what you see before you. Not outside the window, but the reflection you see. I can see the tears in your eyes already and I know why. You're thinking about the life you once had, but I swear, you don't have to make the mistakes your parents made, you don't even have to forget your past with me, but just know I'll be here for you if you ever need me." He said. The tears then began to slide down her cheeks. She bowed her head and covered her eyes with her hand. She hadn't cried in so long that it actually felt good. She placed her free hand on the length of his arm and he kissed her shoulder again. He held her tightly and let her sob, he knew this was the only way she'd be the person she truly was. Not a mean and horrible woman, but inside he knew she was just a frightened little girl that was waiting for someone to let her be released.

"Niles, will you stay the night with me, please?" She cried and he nodded.

"I will, now come on, you need some sleep." He took her hand and she pointed to where her bedroom was. He led her there, and he could still hear her crying behind him, but he could tell she was trying to keep it silent.

He helped her lie down and even tucked her in like she was a child, she laughed at this and admitted to him she'd never been tucked in before and that it was funny seeing as how she was in her thirties. When he went to go out into the living room, she sat up quickly and grabbed his hand. He turned and looked at her and he could see that the little girl was now out in her eyes. He tried to imagine what she must have looked like, she had blonde hair and blue eyes for sure, but she did not have a smile on her face, her face was full of sadness and anger that would show later on in her life and make her who she was today.

"Will you stay with me until I go to sleep?" She asked. He smiled a small smile.

"Sure." He replied as he sat down on her bed.

"Come lie down next to me." She said and he did so. She curled up next to him and rested her head on his chest. He ran his fingers through her hair and then kissed her forehead.

"Good night Miss Babcock." He whispered.

"C.C." She replied sleepily.

"Good night then...C.C." He rested his head on hers and within an instant, she was already fast asleep, but he couldn't move, she had her arms linked around his waist, so he just stayed the entire night with her, it was the least he could do.

When C.C. awoke the next morning, she saw that Niles was gone. She sat up and rubbed her head, trying to think if it was a dream or not. She knew it wasn't when she looked over at the nightstand and saw there was a note with her name written on it. When she opened it she read that he was sorry he had to leave, but he had to get to work but that he would see her later on, knowing that she'd be back at Maxwell's sometime that day.

According to her alarm clock, it was eleven in the morning. Her eyes widened and then she rushed into the bathroom to grab a shower before she went anywhere. She quickly washed her hair and herself, then when she was finished, she walked into her closet and looked through her suits. She thought about wearing a black one, but she shook her head and grabbed her yellow fleece jacket with a white short sleeve shirt to wear underneath, and a pair of blue jeans that she had never worn any other place than at her sister or brother's house as well as her own. When she finished drying her hair, she put it up in a ponytail, and applied her make up, she then saw how much her eyes were shining. She smiled at her reflection for the first time in a long time and then she left to go to Maxwell's house, sure she had some things to get done with him, but she wanted to see Niles again as well.

"MISTA SHEFFIELD! MISS BABCOCK IS HERE!" Fran yelled and C.C. covered her ears and cringed.

"Thank you for announcing me Nanny Fine." She said sarcastically.

"Ya welcome! I was just on my way out to see Ma and Grandma Yetta with the kids. COME ON YOU GUYS!" She yelled and the three Sheffield children came down the stairs with rather glum looks on their faces.

After they all left, Maxwell finally came down the stairs and he greeted her with a kiss on the cheek and hug. "Are you feeling any better?" He asked as he placed a hand on her back and they walked to his office.

"Yes, very much so." She replied as she sat down on "her" couch as she called it.

"Please don't be angry with Niles, he just loves to tease people, my God I can't recall all the times he teased me when we were younger." He said. He stared off for a moment as flashbacks entered his mind and then he shook his head quickly to be rid of them.

"Don't worry, I'm not." As if on cue, Niles then entered the room with the house phone in hand.

"Miss Babcock, your mother is on line two and believe me, by the way she sounds, I don't doubt she is." C.C. snatched the phone from him and gave him an evil stare. He winked at her before he turned around to tell Maxwell something, but C.C. tuned them out when she put the phone to her ear.

"Hello?" She said.

"Chastity! How are you?" She sounded chipper, what had Niles meant when he'd said that she was like her?

"I'm fine, how are you?" She asked.

"I'm just great! I was going to ask, would it be ok if I came and visited you for a few days? This California heat is driving me insane and I know that it's cooler in New York." C.C.'s head dropped and she averted her eyes upward to look at the ceiling. Why was it her mother picked her to be the one to visit when one of her boyfriends left her?

"Sure mummy, whenever you want to." She said as she bowed her head and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"Oh thank you sweetheart! Does Friday sound alright to you?" B.B. asked.

"Yeah, sounds fine to me." C.C. replied.

"I'll see you then!" Then the dial tone played in her ear. She sighed as she handed the phone to Niles and stood.

"My mother's coming the day after tomorrow." She said blankly.

"Isn't that a happy occasion C.C.?" Maxwell asked.

"Not really. My mother and I barely see each other and the only time she calls is because one of her boyfriends has left her." She explained.

"I'm sorry that it has to be that way C.C., why didn't you just tell her not to come? You could have said you were sick or something like that?" He asked.

"I'm not a liar." She said.

"Since when?" Niles exclaimed and she shot him another look.

"Shut up Niles, I didn't ask for your opinion, and please, you're a better liar than I am." She said and when she saw his face fall, she knew that she shouldn't have said that. "Niles, I'm sorry, I didn't mean that." She said as she touched his arm. He looked at her hand and then back up to her.

"Excuse me sir, I have some things I have to get done. Good day Miss Babcock." He walked from the room and C.C. wanted to kick herself, but she pretended not to let it bother her, Maxwell though could see right through her.
_

"C.C., is there something that you want to tell me?" He asked after a few hours of her saying absolutely nothing except for the occasional 'Yeah' or 'That's fine'.

"It's nothing I promise. Nothing at all." She lied.

"I know you're lying, what happened between you and Niles last night?" He asked. She looked at him questioningly.

"How did you know that," She was stopped by him holding up his hand.

"I knew he went to see you, I saw him leave and he didn't come back until earlier this morning." He replied and she nodded.

"He came to my apartment to apologize. And he...he...he told me he loved me. He always had." She said. Maxwell nodded and sighed.

"And what did you tell him?" He asked.

"That I loved him back and he kissed me as well, but I'm afraid Maxwell." She said and he looked at her confused.

"Of what? If two people are meant to be together, what's going to stop them?" She shook her head and looked at the floor.

"My parents, my siblings, they wouldn't want me to marry someone beneath me." She said just before she looked at the floor and began to cry.. He sighed and squatted down in front of her.

"Look at me." He said as he put his finger on her chin and lifted her face to look at him. "Don't listen to what other people tell you. If I had done that, I would never be where I am now, nor would I ever have married Sarah. You listen to what your head and your heart tell you and believe me, you'll be a lot better off. Do you understand?" She nodded and he did to. He then hugged her and held her for a few moments. He'd never seen her cry before, he'd never even imagined her being like this, but he had found that when she did cry, it was pitiful, and that he'd help her and Niles no matter what the future held.

I seriously need to stop making C.C.'s mom sound like a bitch...C.C. was really mean to her in one ep, can't think of which one it is, so her mom could have been really nice or whatever and she could have been the bitch of her three children...anyway, I hope this chapter was sweet enough for y'all. I made Maxwell sweet to because of the fact he seems that way when C.C. is down and out. And of course...Niles is just sweet anyway...-nods off into dreamland- Ok I'm back. Thank you for the reviews and keep doing it, they make me smile! :D Oh! And the line is by Kelly Clarkson from her song You Found Me