Author's Note: So begins the end of Chandler! I thought you guys would be happy to hear. Thank you all for reading and staying with me! :)

(IV)

The next morning, C.C. awoke from a sickening dream. She bolted upright in bed, waking the man who was dosing next to her. He sat up sleepily and wrapped an arm around her waist.

"What's wrong, babe?" he asked her groggily and planted a comforting kiss on her shoulder.

"Nightmare." She told him breathlessly.

Chandler wrapped his second arm around C.C. in a soothing gesture. She took his hands from her waist and kissed the back of each one before letting them fall to the bed.

"I'm just going to hop in the shower." She explained and rose from the sheets.

"Want me to join you?" he asked her, already drifting back to sleep behind tired eyes.

"You're exhausted. Sleep."

C.C. stumbled into the bathroom. Her head was spinning and her chest was heaving. She turned on the shower and slid down the wall of the bathroom to sit on the cold floor. She leaned back and closed her eyes, running her fingers through her hair. Her legs were shaking as she thought of her dream that night.

C.C. found herself standing in the middle of a corn field. It was springtime, and she was surrounded by tall stalks of green husks. She stared up into the cheerful, blue sky and watched the stars twinkling above her in vibrant colors. A male cardinal flapped past her, carrying a pink satin ribbon in its talons, and she followed it with her eyes. Suddenly, she was lying on the ground with the wind knocked out of her. The bright sky was blocked out by the figure of a robust man looming over her. She could feel his breath on her neck as his hands trailed over her body in a lascivious manner. Soon, the sensation of skin on skin overwhelmed her. She arched her back into his calloused hands and her eyes fluttered closed. She could feel his lips on her stomach trailing downward and she rolled the curls of his hair around her fingers. She was shortly on the verge of ecstasy and she rolled over the edge with a scream.

"Oh Niles!"

C.C. was lying on the floor of her bathroom with her face pressed against the icy ceramic tiles of the floor. Did I really have a dream orgasm? Is that even possible? She had woken up with the familiar, but astounding pull of her groin, and her thighs were quivering. It had all felt so real! Why would I have dreamt of Niles like that? I didn't even see his face! It couldn't have been him, but then why would my dream-self have shouted his name? I can't believe this. I really can't believe this.

C.C. decided to finally get in the shower, though she originally had no intentions of doing so. She had just needed an excuse to get out of bed with Chandler. I just had sex with him, but my subconscious wants NILES? This is insane. I'm insane.

She slid back the glass door of the shower and stepped in. The water was tepid now, but she didn't care. Her mind was racing because, no matter how much she wanted to deny it, the touch of that dream man was more electric than sex with Chandler was last night. She wanted to cry and scream and flail. It was only a dream. Just a dream. She had never thought of Niles in that way before, and now she was going to have a damn hard time not thinking about him like that.

When C.C. emerged from the shower, Chandler was gone. He'd left a note on her pillow explaining that he had been called into a meeting and hated to leave her. His blue ink told her that he would call her later at the mansion. She breathed a sigh of relief because the shower had not helped her flustered appearance one bit. She looked over at her alarm clock and figured that she would get dressed and stop by her favorite café on the way to work. She dried her hair and slipped into a trustworthy black ensemble and set off to drink a cappuccino and ponder her strange dream.

Niles looked up from the banister he was polishing to watch C.C. Babcock breeze into the foyer. He had been mentally preparing himself to see her, but it was obvious that his efforts were futile. She looked radiant and she was beaming. He was furious that he would never be the one to bring such a smile to her face. She seemed almost angelic to him. She swooped in with her long cream-colored coat, and a cream hat was perched on top of her shoulder length mane.

"Niles!" she sang. "Did my boyfriend call?"

"Oh, for heaven sake, you're almost fifty. Do you have to call him your boyfriend?" he scowled and screwed the lid back on the lemon pledge.

"You're just jealous because I have a lover and you have her." C.C. lifted up his feather duster and shook it in front of his face.

Niles stared at her. The only thing running through his mind was the image of him using that feather duster to tease her endlessly. He chewed his lip and she smiled radiantly. He had honestly never seen her smile like that before. Their boss interrupted them to hand C.C. her tickets to the Broadway Guild Awards. She quickly skipped into the office, tickets in hand, to call Chandler.

C.C. dialed his office number again. Damn, why isn't he answering me? She slammed the phone down after four or so failed attempts in calling her beau. She huffed and slumped down into the green settee that she so fondly referred to as "her office." She dug through the pile of papers beside her and extracted some contracts that needed to be looked over. She was soon disturbed by Niles carrying a tray with a shiny silver teapot.

"Tea, Miss Babcock?"

"Thank you, Niles." She responded half-heartedly, refusing to draw her eyes away from the papers.

Niles watched her eyes scan back and forth, avidly working. He glanced down to take in her figure. His eyes traced over her svelte arms. They danced along the toned muscles of her biceps and down to her perfectly manicured fingernails that clutched the contracts. His gaze trailed down her impeccably clothed body and landed on her legs. Those sexy legs. He's often daydreamed of those slender legs wrapping around his body. He would run his hands along the smooth, velvety skin of those legs and then wake up the next morning completely breathless and alone. He had to look away, for his head was starting to ache. He promptly turned to pour her a cup of hot tea.

C.C. glanced up to observe the butler. Her blue eyes scanned over his heavily-clothed shoulders and back. She found herself wondering what he was like underneath those jackets and ties. She pondered what it would feel like to run her hands along his chest and down his muscular arms. Suddenly, Niles pivoted to hand her the cup of tea. Their eyes met and C.C. hastily took the cup and saucer, lowering her eyes to study the amber liquid.

"Anything else I can get you, Miss Babcock? A touch of brandy or maybe some pig's blood for your tea?" he smirked at her.

"Get out of here, Merry Maid. I've got work to do." She snarled.

The moment the door closed behind him, she reached for the phone to dial Chandler again. She grumbled when he still didn't answer and decided to call once more.

Chandler finally answered the phone hours later when C.C. had returned to her apartment. She didn't say anything about it; she didn't want to nag him. When he asked her to go to dinner with him, she happily agreed.

They met at an upscale restaurant known for its unique desserts. Chandler gave her a warm embrace when he saw her and kissed her lightly on the nose. They walked into the restaurant together, hand in hand.

"I have a reservation under the name Evans."

The hostess guided them to their table and Chandler took the opportunity to ask C.C. about her day. They took their seats and they laughed over the verbal sparring match that C.C. and Niles had gotten into earlier. Chandler was really amused by the way the two treated one another. He was also quite curious of the way C.C.'s eyes would sparkle when she talked about fighting with the servant. It was as if bantering with the help was the highlight of her day. He sat back and listened to her elaborate.

Two hours later, Chandler and C.C. had finished their meals and devoured the decadent bananas foster skyscraper they'd ordered. Neither had seen anything like the dessert menu there. They shared a cab back to C.C.'s apartment, and Chandler walked her up. He took her hand and gave her a simple kiss on her lips before pulling away.

"Don't you want to come inside?" she questioned sultrily, running her hands along his lapels.

"I have to go in to work at 6 tomorrow morning, I can't." Chandler explained to her and kissed her on the cheek. "I'll call you."

C.C. lifted her fingers to graze her cheek and watched him leave. She stayed there, leaning against her door, for a while. She motionlessly stared off into the hallway that Chandler was just standing in not even minutes ago. She sighed and let her hand fall from her face to twist the doorknob and she went inside.