Hi everyone. I'm sorry for updating so late, but I spent the afternoon watching the 3rd and the 4th Harry Potter movie, and this evening I had plans. I thought I'd be able to update before leaving, but my internet was acting up so I wasn't able to do it. It was still acting like crazy when I got home, so I've spent more than an hour trying and waiting for it to work properly, so that I could update. I was tempted to turn off the computer, but I wanted to give you an update today. Finally it seems like it's working. Anyway, I hope you'll like the chapter and thank you to everyone for reading, and an extra special and big thank you to all you who review. :-)

To amyb: Since I couldn't reply to your review, I'm just going to reply here. :-) Thank you so much for reading and reviewing - it means so much. :-) I'm so happy you thought the ending was adorable. :-) Well, I don't know how much tension you'll see, but I do hope you'll like what I've written. :-D Thank you so much for telling me, you love my story - that means so much. Oh wow thank you so much for your last comment - you're much too kind. *blush* I'm very flattered and honored you think that. *blush*

Chapter 10

Niles let CC work for the rest of the day without insulting her or throwing any kind of remarks her way. They didn't even banter when he came to announce that Maggie, Brighton, and Gracie were home and it was snack time. However, she'd declined joining them for a snack seeing as she had too much to work on. Niles had sighed inwardly at that, but had a few moments later brought the snack to the office along with a cup of herbal tea.

Seeing as CC had so much work to do, Niles had made the request to the children that they'd be as quiet as possible, so that CC had the peace she needed to work. To avoid them being suspicious about his suddenly kind behavior towards CC, he'd told them that their father would want them to respect CC and the work she was doing. Naturally they'd agreed to keep quiet and stay out of her way.

When dinnertime came around Niles came to get her, but she requested to have her dinner in the office, so that she could work at the same time. Once again Niles had sighed inwardly, but had agreed nonetheless bringing her dinner to the office a couple of minutes later.

Later in the evening CC threw another useless script down on the desk and yawned. She had already read a bunch of scripts without getting anywhere. When she looked at her watch, she was surprised to see that it was nearly 11.45. She'd noticed that Niles had been to the office a few times after taking her dinner plate away, bringing her a cup of herbal tea and later a bottle of water and a fruit salad and cookies.

She hadn't taken any notice of him when he'd brought it to her, being too engrossed in the scripts. But when she'd gotten off the green leather couch to grab a new script from the desk and noticed the food and beverages next to the scripts, she knew it could only have been him bringing that to her. And it had made her smile.

Deciding it was time to go home she packed her things together and walked out of the office. Not thinking anyone would still be up at this hour, she was surprised to find Niles watching TV in the living room with Chester by his side.

When he heard her enter, he turned off the TV and then looked up at her with a small smile on his face.

"Found anything worth using?" She shook her head.

"Nope. Like I said, it's crap." He stood up.

"Hopefully, you'll have better luck tomorrow." She sighed.

"I better. I have plans this weekend, which I don't intend on cancelling."

She rubbed her eyes trying to become a bit more awake for the drive home, and didn't notice the saddened look on Niles' face when she'd said she had plans for the weekend. Despite what she'd said at the wedding, he feared she had a date. However, when she looked at him again, he quickly offered her a small smile.

"Well, then let's hope you find the perfect script tomorrow." She shook her head.

"I doubt it." She sighed again. "Well, I should get home. Come here, Chester."

She picked up her dog giving it a scratch on the head and then started walking towards the door. Niles stepped in front of her and opened the door for her.

"See you tomorrow for breakfast?" She nodded.

"Yes, but I think I'll have it in the office, if you don't mind. With the way things are, I'm sure I'll be reading scripts all day, so I should get started on that as soon as I get here."

"I'll be sure to get the office ready for you to have breakfast there, as soon as you arrive." She was about to smile but ended up yawning instead.

"Thanks. See you in the morning."

"Goodnight, Miss Babcock."

After watching her leave and closing the door, Niles sighed at how she was already working too hard. Knowing he couldn't stop her and that it was part, of who she was, which he also loved, he headed back to the office to tidy up, so that it was already prepared for when CC would arrive the next day.

From the minute CC walked into the office at the Sheffield's mansion the next morning, she was hard at work.

She spent the entire day in the office, only leaving when she needed to go to the bathroom. She even stayed in the office during snack time and dinner.

Once again Niles brought her food and drinks throughout the day, and once again CC didn't even sense him when he was in the office. It was only when she got off the couch to get a new script from the desk, or when she walked back into the office from having read a script on the terrace that she noticed the food and drinks waiting for her on the desk.

Throughout the day when her hunger had gotten to be too much for her to handle, she had intended to find Niles to ask for something to eat. But then she'd discovered the food already waiting for her and she'd been surprised every time. And surprised too, to find that she was having one of her favorite dishes for lunch and dinner.

It was like he could read her mind of what she was in the mood for.

Whenever she was in the mood for fruit, she would find a fruit salad waiting for her on the desk, whenever she was in the mood for a little healthy snack she'd find a plate of carrot, cucumber, and celery sticks, and whenever she was in the mood for cookies, she'd find her favorite cookies waiting for her. And she could tell they were freshly baked too.

It was the same with her beverages. Whenever she wanted a cup of coffee, she'd notice the thermos with a fresh pot of coffee, when she needed a bit of sugar she'd find a soda waiting for her or Niles' homemade iced-tea, and when she needed water she'd find a cold bottle ready for her to drink.

She had every intention of thanking him for all of it, but every time she planned to go looking for him, she was reminded that she had the difficult task of finding the right script with very little time to spare for anything else. With not having noticed his presence in the office, she hadn't been able to thank him then as she'd planned on, and in the evening when she went home just before midnight, she was too tired to remember to thank him.

The next day just shortly before noon Niles was in the kitchen about to start putting together a cheesecake when the doorbell rang. He shook his head in confusion as to who could be stopping by, but went to open the door.

When he reached the front door and could see, who was on the other side, he rolled his eyes and wondered if Sylvia had such a keen sense of smell that she could smell, he was about to make a cheesecake before he'd even started mixing the ingredients together.

However, when he opened the door he smiled as Sylvia and Yetta walked through the door.

"Hello, Sylvia. Hello, Yetta. And may I ask what brings you by? You do realize that your daughter and son-in-law are still on their honeymoon and won't be back for another two and a half weeks."

"Yes, I know, but we came to visit with the children. Now that I'm their grandmother, I feel it's important that I spend more time with them to teach them the ways of life."

Niles looked at her like she'd grown an extra head at how she was speaking like she'd suddenly adapted a higher social status in life. He knew she talked like that whenever she pretended to be classier than she was, but it made no sense now seeing as there was no one but the three of them there.

"She might be here to see the kids, but she also came for a free meal."

As Sylvia swatted Yetta's arm for her comment, Niles chuckled slightly. She might be senile most of the time, but when she wasn't Yetta always went straight to the point.

"Ma, that's not true." She then turned to look at Niles and flashed him her big eyes in an attempt to get him to make them lunch. "Of course, now that we're here and it's nearly lunchtime, we might as well stay and eat." He gave her a smirk, so she quickly added an afterthought. "Eat with the children, of course." Niles raised an eyebrow at her still with the smirk plastered on his face.

"Mmhmm." When she was still flashing him a big smile and those eyes, he knew he'd better get rid of them quickly, or else they'd end up staying all day, and he'd end up cooking more than just lunch for them. "There's just one problem with that. The children aren't here. They're in school and won't be back for hours." Sylvia shrugged.

"We have time. We'll wait for them."

When Sylvia took a few steps further into the mansion, Niles quickly took a couple of long strides to get in front of her and effectively stopping her path. He quickly smiled at her seeing her confused expression, and then lied through his teeth.

"Normally, I'd love for you to stay, and I'd gladly cook for you. But today isn't such a good day."

"Why not?" This time he answered her honestly.

"Miss Babcock is here working on a benefit that she and Mr. Sheffield are taking part in. She has a lot of work ahead of her, and requires peace and quiet to work in." Sylvia was about to open her mouth to protest, but never got the chance. "It's what Mr. Sheffield would want, so I think it's best to go along with his wishes." Sylvia shrugged at first but then nodded.

"I guess it's the decent thing to do." She smiled her big smile at him once again. "I don't suppose you have anything eatable here? Like a nice big cake or a roast?" He felt the urge to roll his eyes, but shook his head instead.

"No, I'm afraid that I don't." She pouted. Figuring he'd better get them on their way, he went back to the door and opened it for them. "I'll tell the children you stopped by. And seeing as their vacation starts today, I'll see if I can't talk them into visiting you."

They turned around and walked towards the door. When Sylvia was nearly out the door she turned around to look at him.

"You do that, and then see if you can't convince them to bring a cake."

"And I suppose you'd want me to bake that?"

"Yes, I think that would be best. With my blood sugar, I can't afford to eat anything that's not properly made." This time he rolled his eyes but then nodded.

"I'll see what I can do. You ladies have a nice day."

"You too, Niles."

He saw them off wanting to make sure, they left. When he was back inside, he groaned out loud and sighed but then smiled that he'd been successful in getting them out of the house. It wasn't that he really minded them, but he didn't want anything or anyone disturbing CC when she was so busy and stressed out.

With CC in mind he left for the kitchen to prepare the cheesecake and then lunch.

When Niles walked into the office forty-five minutes later with lunch, CC tossed a script on the desk and took a new one from the pile.

"I take it that script was crap too?" She turned around and nodded at him.

"Yup."

"Well, seems I came at the perfect time. Lunch is served."

"You can just put it down on the desk."

When she was on her way back to the couch already having her head in the new script, Niles shook his head and headed for the terrace.

"Not a chance. You're having your lunch on the terrace."

She looked up at him and saw that he was already opening the doors to the terrace. From pure exhaustion she got mad and snapped at him.

"I don't have the luxury to be able to sit down and eat my lunch and listen to the little birdies chirping. I have work, to do."

Knowing she wasn't mad at him but that it was merely the stress getting to her, he didn't let her outburst get to him.

"The fresh air will do you good. Besides, you can go over another script while you eat." She sighed and nodded knowing he had a point.

"I suppose, you're right."

He gave her a small smile and a nod.

"Good."

"Who was at the door?"

"Sylvia and Yetta. Sylvia gave a flimsy excuse about wanting to spend more time with the children, and thought she could get a free meal in the process."

"And you were actually able to get rid of them?" He gave her his impish grin.

"You'd be surprised at what I'm capable of." He finished placing the food on the table. "Here you are." When she was seated at the table, she looked at the food in surprise seeing as he once again had made her some of her favorite foods. "Enjoy your lunch."

Realizing she'd been an ass to him, she called out to him as he was nearly inside again.

"Niles." He turned around and noticed her rub a hand over her tired eyes before looking at him again. "Look, I…"

She stopped talking when she saw him shaking his head, and smiling gently at her.

He knew she was about to apologize to him for her behavior, but he felt it wasn't necessary.

"It's quite alright, Miss Babcock." She gave him a tired smile and gave him a nod in gratitude. "Now eat up." She nodded and he left.

For the rest of the day CC stayed in the office and was again surprised but happy seeing that Niles had brought her some of her favorite dishes and drinks once again throughout the day.

Looking at her watch and seeing it was nearly midnight, she decided it was time to go home. As she gathered her things she picked up a pile of scripts intending to go through them during the weekend. She knew she'd have to, if she was to find a scene and have everything done in time.

When she walked into the living room she saw that Niles, Maggie, Brighton, and Gracie were there watching TV. It even seemed like Chester was paying attention to the screen. Gracie looked up at her when she heard her enter.

"Are you going home, Miss Babcock?"

"Yes. I need to get some sleep."

Not having insulted her for the last couple of days, Niles couldn't resist any longer.

"Sleep? But I thought your kind didn't sleep at night."

She gave him half a glare being too tired to do anything else. But on the inside she was happy, having missed their usual banter the last couple of days, though she'd been grateful for the peace and quiet.

"Have you found the right scene yet?" CC took her eyes off of Niles and looked at Maggie.

"No. That's why I'm taking a bunch of scripts home with me."

"Well, I hope you find one in one of those scripts." CC smiled back at her.

"Thanks, Maggie. So are you enjoying your vacation so far even though it's just started?" Brighton nodded.

"Yep. And it's going to be great sleeping in tomorrow." Maggie rolled her eyes at him.

"You'd be able to do that anyway, you Pinhead. It's Saturday."

"Hey, don't take the joy away from me." She gave Brighton a mocking sympathetic smile.

"I'm sorry, Brighton. I should've realized you have so little joy in your life as it is." He smirked at her.

"Yes, you should've realized it. Especially, since you have so little joy in your life too." Maggie groaned.

"Shut up, Brighton!"

Niles shook his head and rolled his eyes at them.

"I can't believe you're having virtually the same discussion as last Friday." Brighton smirked at him.

"Be careful what you say, Niles. You do remember how that conversation went. So do you really want to go down that road again, and reminisce about what was said about you?" He rolled his eyes while the rest let out a small chuckle.

"No, thank you." Brighton smirked triumphantly.

"Didn't think so."

"And I think that's my cue to leave."

CC looked at Chester and then to the pile of scripts in her arms. She tried to adjust the scripts, so that she could get a hold of Chester too. But it didn't seem to work.

When she'd tried for a while, Niles decided to help her out. But as not to give himself away in front of the children that he was being nice to her, he feigned annoyance.

"Oh stop that. Watching you try to balance everything is giving me a headache. Here, I'll help." She rolled her eyes at him but was grateful for the help. Thinking he'd take some of the scripts off her hands, she was about to hold them out to him. However, he had anticipated her move, so instead he reached out for Chester. "Come here, Chester, it's time to go home."

He picked up the dog, and then looked at CC with a big smirk plastered on his face. He was glad to see her glaring back at him.

"Gee thanks." He gave her an overly happy smile.

"Oh my pleasure."

The children grinned from watching their antics, but tried to stifle them enough to be able to say goodnight to CC.

"Goodnight, Miss Babcock."

"Have a nice weekend." She rolled her eyes at them seeing they were still grinning, but couldn't prevent the smile on her lips.

"Thanks. You have a nice weekend too."

"Bye."

They walked towards the door and Niles got Chester leash from the closet. Seconds later, they stood outside by her car: Niles waited for her to get her keys out of her bag knowing full well, she couldn't with all the scripts in her hands. Hearing him let out a chuckle, she glared at him.

"You know, you can put Chester down and give me a hand."

He let out another chuckle and then nodded his head.

"Oh alright then."

He put the dog on the ground and took a bunch of the scripts off her hands while she got her keys out. Once she'd done that, she unlocked the car and opened the door to the passenger's seat. Chester got in and she put her bag next to him. She then put the rest of the scripts, she'd been holding, in the backseat and left the door open for Niles to do the same and then closed the door when he was done.

"I'll see you on Monday, Niles." He nodded.

"Yes, see you then."

"Bye."

He watched her drive off and hoped that she'd take good care of herself, and that the plans she had, didn't involve a date with a man.

TBC