It's that time of week again where I post a chapter. :-) Hope you'll enjoy it and continue to like the story. Thanks to everyone who reads and reviews - it means so much to. Well, I'm off to work on chapter 12. Take care. :-)
Chapter 6
A couple of hours later CC walked into the kitchen. She and Niles hadn't seen much of each other since breakfast. He'd been in the office to bring her a cup of tea, and they'd thrown a few zingers then, but that had been it.
She watched him as he was putting ingredients into a bowl and started to mix them together. When her stare finally got to him, he looked up.
"What's the matter, Babcock? You act like you've never seen a man put together a cake before." She smirked at him.
"I still haven't." He chuckled and then nodded.
"I walked right into that one, didn't I?"
"Oh yeah, big time." They shared a chuckle.
"Is there anything I can get for you, Miss Babcock?" She shook her head.
"No, I just came to grab a bottle of water from the fridge. Oh and to talk about lunch." She went to the fridge to get the water.
"You want me to make you something to eat now?"
She closed the fridge and turned around to look at him as she opened the water.
"No." She took a sip. "I just want you to not make anything too fattening." She took a quick look down at herself before looking at him again. "As I know you can't help but have noticed, I've gained some weight that I want to lose. So I'd appreciate it, if you don't deliberately put a lot of fat in my food."
Even though she'd already lost some of the weight she'd gained, he could see that she felt ashamed of the way she looked, and he felt sad. It wasn't like he hadn't noticed the weight gain, but it had never bothered him. No matter how she looked, she was always stunningly beautiful to him.
He wondered if he was to blame for her weight gain. It wasn't like he hadn't called her names in that regard. But then he'd also called her those kinds of names long before the weight gain. Seeing her so ashamed of herself, made him wish he could take back all the jokes about her weight. He wished, he could just tell her how beautiful she was. But he knew that if he did that, he'd reveal his feelings and she'd only ridicule him, because he was sure she didn't feel the same way about him.
Not finding any way to tell her that she didn't need to feel ashamed of herself, without giving his feelings away, he simply nodded.
"Is there anything in particular you'd like me to make you for lunch?"
"What do you have?"
"Enough vegetables to make a nice salad. I can cook some chicken to put in it as well. Or I could make you a sandwich with chicken and fill it with lots of vegetables. I also have prosciutto, rocket, olives, cheese, and other ingredients, so that I could make you an Italian style sandwich. I could also fix you a pasta dish. There are some shrimp in the freezer I could get out, if you'd want me to put that into a pasta dish. And if none of that is to your liking, I can go to the store and buy you what you'd like for lunch."
She shook her head as she swallowed the sip of water she'd just taken.
"No need to go to the store with that much food here." She thought about her choices and took another sip before answering. "Well, a salad with chicken would be nice. But is that even possible? I mean shouldn't the chicken be out of the freezer by now, if you're going to make it in about an hour or so?"
"All taken care of. We went to the store yesterday, and I bought some chicken intending to have a chicken sandwich or salad with chicken for lunch today. So there's fresh chicken in the fridge."
"Oh good. Then I'll have a salad with chicken."
"I'll have the same. No point in making two different dishes. That'll just be too much work." They both chuckled.
CC took another drink of water and then nodded her head towards the bowl.
"What's with the cake? Any special reason why you're going to the trouble of making a cake, when you could be doing nothing?"
He shrugged and smiled a little shyly.
"I like to spoil the children when I look after them. I've done that ever since they were born. However, even when I spoil them, I make sure that they eat healthy too. I'm making a carrot cake, and the ingredients are low in fat." He hesitated not knowing if he should say it or not, but then decided to go ahead. "So if you'd like, you can easily have a piece. I know you said that you don't want anything fattening, but I promise you that I'm really only using low fat ingredients."
She thought about what he'd said, and knew that a little piece of cake wouldn't hurt. She'd also been told by her doctor that once she got off the medication and started exercising, she shouldn't have much trouble getting back to her normal weight quickly. Deciding to allow herself a bit of cake and sweets from time to time, and then just work out a bit harder to get rid of it, she nodded.
"Okay. I guess a small piece of cake can't hurt. I'm assuming you'll be serving this when the children get home from school?"
"Yes. They always have a snack when they come home from school, and start on their homework. I'll either be serving it in the living room or here in the kitchen, so you're welcome to join them. Or if you'd prefer, I can bring it to you in the office."
"I'll join them. After all, having been in the office for most of the day at that time, I'll need a break."
"Very well."
"I'll let you get back to your cooking. Talk to you later, Benson."
"Later, Babs."
At 3.08 Maggie, Brighton, and Gracie came home from school walking through the front door. When Niles heard the door open, he turned off the TV and stood up.
"Hi, Niles."
"Hello, Children. How was your day?"
"Like any other day."
"Mmhmm." He looked at Gracie. "I take it that means you had an exciting day." He then looked at Brighton. "That you had a boring day." Lastly he looked at Maggie. "And that you had a bit of both." All three nodded.
"Yeah."
"Yup that pretty much sums it up."
"How was your day, Niles?"
"Yeah, did Miss Babcock give you any trouble?" Maggie and Brighton grinned.
"Didn't we agree this morning before you left for school that I can handle Miss Babcock just fine?" Gracie nodded.
"Yes, we did."
"Well? Did you?" Niles rolled his eyes.
"Yes, thank you, Brighton, I did. Not that there was much to handle. We've conducted ourselves in quite civil manners."
"Really?"
"Yes, really."
"So did she notice that you relaxed for most of the day, or did you feel forced to clean, so that she wouldn't rat you out to Dad?"
"Well actually, she was on to me the minute I told her, I was going to start working, so there was no sense in denying it. I thought she'd make me do something in order to make her keep quiet, but all she really wants is for me to be around to bring her food and drinks, when she's working, and to take care of Chester."
Maggie and Brighton stared incredulously at Niles, and even Gracie did a bit too.
"You've got to be kidding? Miss Babcock actually said that?"
"That has to be some sort of joke." Niles shook his head.
"No, no joke. She knows that there are certain areas of the house that have to be cleaned regularly, so she really can't claim that I haven't cleaned at all. And as long as I'm around to bring her food and drinks, she can't claim that I haven't been around."
Maggie shook her head a bit confused.
"That doesn't really sound like Miss Babcock." Niles shrugged.
"Well, she did make me promise never to tamper with her food and drinks again, and even though we shook on that deal, she did say that it was the deal for now but that she could change her mind." Brighton chuckled.
"That definitely sounds more like the Miss Babcock we know." Maggie nodded in agreement while Niles shrugged again.
"Yes, I agree. But so far she hasn't made me do anything horrible." Brighton padded Niles on the shoulder.
"This is just the first day. She still has a month to make your life a living hell."
Not really believing she'd do that to him but not really being sure that she wouldn't, Niles rolled his eyes and nodded.
"So is Miss Babcock still here?" Niles nodded at Gracie.
"Yes, she is, and she'll be joining you for your afternoon snack."
Maggie and Brighton's eyes widened in surprise. Gracie on the other hand shook her head at them.
"If she hasn't been that bad to Niles, I'm sure she won't be to us either. Besides, she was nice to us this morning. In fact, she was nicer to us than she's been in a long time. You can't deny that she's been really nice to us since the wedding."
"No, we can't, but it's still a bit strange, seeing her be so nice to us."
"Don't you mean seeing her be so nice to anyone?" Maggie nodded agreeing with what Brighton had said.
"Yeah, definitely that too."
"Alright, Children. Let's not forget that Miss Babcock is actually in the house. And I reserve the right to be the only one, who gets to pick on her." They all grinned. "Now, go upstairs and change your clothes so that you can have your afternoon snack."
"Of course, Niles."
"Do you want me to serve your snack in here or in the kitchen?"
"We all have homework to do, so we might as well have it in the kitchen."
"Good. I'll get it ready, and then tell Miss Babcock."
"Well then, see you both in a couple of minutes."
Nearly fifteen minutes later CC walked into the kitchen. Maggie, Brighton, and Gracie were already seated around the table with their homework, and Niles was in the middle of cutting the carrot cake.
"Hello, everyone."
"Hi, Miss Babcock."
She took a seat at the table as Niles put the cake on the table.
"What would you like to drink, Miss Babcock?"
"A cup of tea would be nice."
"Coming right up."
A few moments of silence passed in the kitchen with everyone helping themselves to cake. CC felt a bit out of place even though she'd been around the family since the children were born. However, she'd never really spent any time alone with them, so suddenly being alone with them even with Niles there, she felt a bit uncomfortable. But deciding to change her life for the better, she'd also decided to try to be kinder to the people close to her. Having started being nice to the children since the wedding, she decided that she might as well continue taking the steps to get a better relationship with the entire Sheffield family.
"So do you have a lot of homework?"
Maggie, Brighton, and Gracie all looked at each other with an odd look on their faces, not believing that CC was actually taking an interest in them. However, Maggie and Brighton turned their attention to her.
Maggie shrugged.
"No, not a lot."
Brighton shook his head.
"I have some, but nothing that's troubling me."
CC nodded at them and smiled and then looked at Gracie.
"What about you, Gracie?"
Gracie looked up and along with everyone else her eyes widened in shock at hearing that CC had addressed her correctly.
Gracie was the first one to recover from the shock.
"Are you feeling alright, Miss Babcock?"
"Yes, I'm perfectly fine. Why?" CC looked confusedly around at the shocked faces. "What? Why are you all looking at me like that?"
"Well, because you just addressed Gracie correctly."
Brighton nodded in agreement with Maggie.
"And you have to admit that you've never really gotten our names right."
CC wanted to roll her eyes, but realized that they had a point. Instead she nodded and smiled at them.
"Yes, I realize that, but I know them now." They all gave her a look indicating that they'd like to hear it, and at that she rolled her eyes. She pointed at Maggie. "You're Margaret, but mainly called Maggie." She then pointed at Brighton. "You're Brighton, but Fran calls you B a lot of the time." She then pointed at Gracie. "And you're Grace, though you're mostly called Gracie. Happy now?" Niles smirked.
"Well, well, well. Seems like the old dog can learn new tricks." She gave him a glare.
"I'm still waiting for my tea, Servant."
"And I'm still waiting for you to admit, you're a man. But we can't always get what we want." Just then the teakettle started to whistle. "Oh well, look at that. Maybe my wish will come true too." She rolled her eyes as he went to get the tea.
Maggie, Brighton, and Gracie looked at each other and tried their best to hide their grins. Deciding to get the conversation back on track, Gracie remembered that CC had asked her about homework, so she answered her.
"I have a bit of homework too, and I can't quite figure this out." She gestured to the homework in front of her.
CC turned her attention to her and smiled.
"Pass the homework over here and let me take a look."
Gracie eyes went up in surprise as did everyone else's. However, she then nodded and passed the homework to CC.
"Okay."
CC took the homework and looked it over. She then nodded and pointed.
"Well, here's your problem. Your square roots are all off. But don't worry, I'll help you. I excel in this."
Niles put the cup of tea down in front of CC, and then looked at the children smirking.
"And you won't believe how few times in her long life time, she's said that."
CC glared at Niles and quickly picked up her fork gripping it tightly. At that Niles quickly retreated to safety at the other end of the table all the while smirking.
Maggie and Brighton shook their heads grinning while Gracie looked at CC.
"Thank you, Miss Babcock. I'd really appreciate the help."
CC helped Gracie with her homework, and after cake and drinks had been consumed and Gracie no longer needed help, CC went back to the office to finish with her work.
A couple of hours later, CC put her paperwork together and placed it on the desk. She then looked at her watch and sighed. It was 6.16, and she knew that a night alone at her apartment awaited her. Sighing once again she stood up and headed for the kitchen to say goodnight to everyone.
When she entered the kitchen she once again found everyone there. Niles was in the middle of putting the food on serving trays while the children were getting the glasses, plates, and cutlery. She took a quick glance at everyone. Their happiness and closeness were a slap in the face when she knew she was going home to an empty apartment, and so she decided to make a quick exit.
"Well, I'm off. See you all tomorrow. Come along, Chester."
Chester walked over to CC without fuss, and just as she was about to open the door for the both of them, Maggie stopped her.
"Wait, Miss Babcock."
CC turned and looked at Maggie.
"Yes, Maggie?"
"Do you have any plans for this evening?" CC shook her head.
"No."
"Then would you like to stay for dinner?" CC's eyes widened, in surprise.
"You want me to stay for dinner?" Maggie, Brighton, and Gracie all nodded. "Really?"
"Yes." CC shook her head in disbelief.
"You seriously all want me to stay for dinner?"
"Well, no one asked me." They all looked at Niles. "And if they had, well then I would've sai…"
"Can it, Butler Boy. No one cares what you think." Niles smirked at her, and CC smirked in return before looking back at the children and smiling sincerely. "Thank you. I'd like to stay."
"We're glad."
A couple of minutes later CC, Maggie, Brighton, and Gracie were seated around the dining room table with a plate of food in front of them, while Niles was headed towards the kitchen with his plate of food. Whenever, he was taking care of the children alone, he would eat his dinner in the kitchen as apposed to standing in the corner like he did, when Maxwell and Fran were home.
"Niles, where are you going?" He turned and looked at Maggie.
"I'm going to eat my dinner in the kitchen like I always do."
"That's really getting outdated, so why don't you just eat with us?" Brighton nodded in agreement with Gracie.
"Yeah, we don't mind."
CC feigned disgust.
"I have to eat with the help?" The children grinned while Niles rolled his eyes. Gracie then shook her head but still grinned.
"Oh come on, Miss Babcock. Niles has never been any help to you."
Maggie and Brighton laughed along with Gracie, but at hearing Gracie's words Niles and CC both froze inwardly recalling the memory. Those were the exact same words that Niles had said to CC on that night, they'd gotten drunk in the living room, which ended in them kissing passionately and then being interrupted.
Neither Niles nor CC had ever mentioned that night to anyone, and they hadn't spoken about it to each other either. However, that didn't mean that they both didn't remember it vividly, because they did. What neither was aware of about the other, was that they both thought about that night quite a lot. Reliving it over and over in their minds, but never talking about it out loud.
Niles didn't dare look at CC, in case he gave something away that might make her remember something that he was sure, she'd long forgotten. He was about to tell her that it would be alright for her to eat with him, since he'd never been any help to her, but that was the same wording he'd used on that night. He then chose a different approach.
"Oh come now, Babcock." She looked at him and saw the smirk on his face. "Surely eating with me is a step up from what you're used to. At least I don't eat out of a dumpster like your other friends nor do I lick myself. And I wasn't referring to my mouth." She started out by glaring at him but then smirked at him.
"And as far as I know, no one else is licking you either." She smirked even more when his smirk turned into a slight glare. "Not on the mouth or in other places." She laughed throatily when he glared at her even more.
Maggie, Brighton, and Gracie looked at each other grimacing. Neither of them was comfortable with the direction the conversation was heading. Thinking it was best to prevent them from continuing, Maggie cleared her throat.
"Well, since everyone is fine with you joining us, Niles, I think it's best if you sit down, so that we can eat."
Niles and CC looked around at the children. Realizing that their conversation might've gone a bit too far in front of the children, they both gave an apologetic nod to the children.
"Of course, Margaret."
Niles took a seat sitting across from CC, and soon everyone was busy eating and the children started talking about their day.
Other than the children talking about their day, the usual chit chat about this and that, and Niles and CC throwing a few zingers at each other, dinner was quite uneventful.
When Maggie finished her glass of water and stood up, CC realized that dinner was really over and that it meant, it was unfortunately more than likely time for her to leave. She figured everyone would find it strange if she decided to stay longer.
"I'll be in my room. I bought a magazine yesterday that I really want to get back to reading."
"Yeah, since she has no love life of her own, she has no other choice but to read about other people's love lives."
Maggie groaned, shook her head, and rolled her eyes at her brother.
"Shut up, Brighton!"
Maggie turned on her heels and left the dining room in a hurry, while Brighton laughed. He turned towards the others still keeping the grin on his face.
"It's just too easy." Brighton stood up as well. "Well, I'm off to my room too. My videogame awaits. See ya."
CC nodded and smiled a little at him, but it went unnoticed by him and everyone else as Niles addressed Gracie, when she too stood.
"So what are your plans for the evening, Grace?"
"I'm still in the middle of reading my book, so I'm excited about getting back to it." Niles nodded and smiled.
"Just don't stay up too late." She smiled back.
"I won't." CC sat watching amazed at how easily it came to Niles to be caring towards other people. Though she'd never admit it to anyone, she was envious of that ability. "So, I guess I'll see you tomorrow for breakfast, Miss Babcock?"
CC blinked a few times realizing that Gracie had stopped talking to Niles and was now speaking to her.
"Um yeah, I'll be here tomorrow for breakfast." Gracie nodded and smiled.
"Well, see you then. Goodnight, Miss Babcock." CC smiled back.
"Goodnight, Gracie."
"Goodnight, Niles."
"Goodnight, Grace." When Gracie left the dining room Niles stood up and started clearing the table. CC couldn't think of anything to say, but didn't have time to think of something. "Oh now, Babs. Since you've gotten a free meal the least you could do is help clear the table. You're used to getting paid for your services, so why not pay me for the service I provided you." She rolled her eyes at him as he gathered the plates.
"Why should I pay you back? You're the servant, so it's your job to service me no matter what."
At hearing that Niles thought of the many ways, he'd like to service CC. And in every way they were both naked. Pushing the thought aside he smirked at her.
"But I could've turned you away like I do with all the other strays." She groaned and then stood up.
"Fine, I'll help if it'll shut you up."
"Oh but you know it won't."
At that comment all CC did was roll her eyes and nod, knowing perfectly well that he was right.
They spent a couple of minutes clearing the table and loading the dishwasher in comfortable silence, but when they were done neither quite knew what to say.
"Well that was that." Niles nodded in response and was about to offer her some tea in hopes that she'd stay longer. But he never got the chance. "I guess, I better be heading home." Inwardly he sighed, but on the outside he nodded.
"I'll see you to the door."
"Okay."
They walked to the front door without saying anything, but when Niles opened the door he gave her a sincere smile.
"Goodnight, Miss Babcock."
"Goodnight, Niles. I'll see you tomorrow." She picked up Chester and walked out the door, but looked over her shoulder as she continued to walk. "And don't forget to make my coffee dishwater free." He chuckled and she watched him nod his head.
Niles watched her leave until he could no longer see her. When he closed the door he leaned against it and sighed. Looking at his watch, he knew that it would still be a while before he'd be going to bed. Going to sleep in an empty bed like every other night. But a small smile formed on his lips knowing that tomorrow CC would be at the house again. And with that thought in mind, he went back to the kitchen to make himself a cup of tea.
TBC