Hello, Hello!:) Thank you guys for all the wonderful feedback!:) I forgot to mention last time that this is set right after season 3, just to give you a rough idea!;) And I'm also trying to incorporate a little Max/Fran relationship here...I suck at writing them so apologies in advance, but I thought I'd try!;) I also don't know how frequent my updates will be coz we're approaching christmas and my work load is still a bit ridiculous. Anyway, here's the update and I'm trying to upload my "M" stuff tonight also. No promises, but I'm trying!;) Keep reviewing, please!
Disclaimer: A belated Happy BIrthday to Mr. Daniel Davis :) who made Niles so special and amazing. Sadly, I don't own anything. lol
Chapter 2: Enemies and Friends
Niles spent a rather uneasy night in his own bed, partly worrying about the well-being of what should've still been his nemesis but even more than that confused about the sudden feelings for her. It surely would've helped if he could've pinpointed which feelings these were exactly, or maybe it just would've made everything worse. Either way he was lying in bed, wide awake, once again remembering the conversation him and the nurse had had.
"Mr. Brightmore!" she called him and he turned around, figuring that he'd just meet Maxwell and Fran back at home, seeing as they had come in separate cars.
"Yes?"
"I was wondering if I might have a word. Normally I would have to speak to Miss Babcock's parents, but as they won't be here any time soon, I am forced to tell you."
"Is her condition worse than we thought?" he immediately asked, fear evident in his eyes.
"No need to look so concerned, Mr. Brightmore. We wouldn't keep such vital information from you." she said winking and then gestured for him to follow her into an empty room where they could talk in private.
He tried to make himself as comfortable as possible on the hard plastic chair. "Then what is it you wanted to tell me?"
"The wound Miss Babcock has got is definitely by a hard object hitting her at the back of the head. Were there any items lying around that could explain this?"
"No, nothing," Niles answered, growing nervous.
"I think this wasn't an accident," she finally blurted out "I think someone hit Miss Babcock on purpose. I would inform the police of this but I fear that if they try to interview her they'll upset her, seeing as she cannot remember anything that happened."
"She can remember me though," Niles said.
"Exactly," she agreed, nodding several times, apparently glad to have steered him in the right direction "this is why I was wondering if you could look after her. She remembers that you found her, so maybe if you'll interact with her on a daily basis she'll remember more and more."
Despite the seriousness of the situation Niles felt a small smile tugging at the corner of his mouth. "I'm afraid that's impossible."
"Why?" she asked confused at the man who was so obviously amused about something.
"Because Miss Babcock and I despise each other," he replied matter-of-factly.
"I find that hard to believe," she said, just as easily.
"Why?" he questioned, now it was his turn to be surprised.
"Because you clearly care about her, otherwise you wouldn't have been so worried."
"Just because we don't like each other doesn't mean I wouldn't be concerned when she's hurt." he tried to reason, but the nurse looked as unconvinced as he felt.
"Well, Mr. Brightmore, that is your personal business," she then said clearing her throat "but we cannot be certain that her life isn't threatened anymore. Therefore, I'd really recommend she'd be staying with you."
"I need to talk to my employer first."
"Naturally, it generally would be a good idea if someone had an eye on her. She's quite capable of functioning on her own but now she's essentially a stranger in this city and wouldn't recognise anyone."
"I completely understand." he said nodding and rose to his feet.
Unbeknownst to Niles he wasn't the only one still wide awake at that hour. For one Maxwell Sheffield had been awakened also upon hearing several suspicious noises in the house. Tying his robe firmly, he slipped out of bed and sneaked down the dark corridor. He followed the sounds to the kitchen and was just cursing himself for having forgotten to bring anything that could've been used as a weapon, when he saw that it was only the Nanny sitting hunched over the table spooning large amounts of Ben&Jerry's into her mouth.
"Miss Fine, you gave me quite a fright." he scolded and she jumped.
"Well, ya just repaid the favah!" she said, pressing a hand to her beating hard.
"Go on, what have I done this time?" he asked, arching an eyebrow.
"Wha-?"
"Well, you usually eat comfort food when I've done something that upset you. So, what is it this time?"
"You mean apart from taking back "the thing"?" she shot back and Maxwell slowly came to realise that this might not have been his smartest move.
"Yes...well," he muttered evasively and hesitantly sat down next to her "a lot has happened since then so maybe you were thinking about..."
"I'm just worried about Miss Babcock," Fran finally cut him off "yes, I know, it came as a surprise to me too. What if that someone who attacked her returns?"
"Miss Fine, so far there's no evidence that C.C. was attacked. It might've been an accident."
"Yes, but we can't be sure. So what if he's still observing her? What if he follows her here? The children might be in danger!"
Fran wasn't actually as upset about it all as she let on, but with the frustrating turn Maxwell's and her relationship had taken, she simply had to use every opportunity she got. And just like a puppet guided by strings he did as she had predicted he would by pulling her into a hug and patting her back.
"There, there. I'm sure it'll all be alright."
"But we can't just sit here and wait, so I thought if I go to the theatre-"
"Miss Fine," he exclaimed, moving away to glare at her angrily "you will not get involved. It's bad enough that C.C. is lying in hospital..."
"Aha! So you admit that it can't have been an accident!" she said triumphantly.
"No, I...I..." he muttered, pressing his fingertips against his temples "I've got that headache again..."
The next day after his work was done Niles once again returned to Lennox Hill hospital. He had been on edge the entire day, almost expecting a phone call to tell him that C.C. had been attacked again. And every time he caught himself worrying about her his frustration grew. What was happening to him? Not 24 hours ago he would've happily played pranks on her without batting an eyelid, pranks that had hurt her many times before. Then finally he had come to the satisfying solution that it was simply the hospital experience that made him so oddly emotional. After all, he had been there when Sara Sheffield had died, there to comfort the children and talk to Maxwell who was slowly beginning to fall apart. And with that particular lie established in his head he was determined to treat C.C. the same as he had always done: snide remarks, distant, not more. It seemed, however, that the infuriating woman had other plans even though she didn't know anything about his inner struggle.
"I'm so glad to see you, Mr. Brightmore." she sighed when he entered her room.
"Why, is something wrong?" he asked worriedly and instantly cursed himself for his weakness.
She sat wearing one of the hospital gowns, her legs drawn to her chest looking incredibly helpless again.
"No, not really," she said sullenly "you're just the only familiar face. That's very comforting, you know?"
Niles smiled softly at her while marvelling how her voice which could go from sultry to icy in a second suddenly sounded so timid.
"You normally call me Niles, you don't even know my last name," he told her gently.
"Niles," she said, it was done very carefully as if weighing each letter on her tongue "are you sure? After all, I don't really know you...anymore."
"Miss Babcock, please, I am the Sheffields' butler... you are rich and wealthy, why would you use my last name?" he said, surprised at the anger that tainted his voice.
C.C. flinched and for a moment her light-blue eyes showed a pain that he had never seen in them, before she rested her chin on her knees and eyed him pensively.
"Why are you so unhappy with your job, Niles?" she quietly asked "Mr. And Mrs. Sheffield seem nice."
He couldn't quite believe his ears, because if the old C.C. had ever said anything like that, it would've been drenched with sarcasm, now, however, she seemed to genuinely care.
"They are," he said after a while "and it's not as bad as I make it seem."
"And yet?" she probed.
For a moment he caught himself doubting her, wondering if she was secretly planning the prank of the decade by asking him to open up. But there was nothing in her eyes that would've strengthened his suspicion and so he found himself telling her.
"It can be hard sometimes, you know? You see the kids make mistakes, kids who grew up with a filthy amount of money, who don't know what it means to work hard for every single buck. And then you see them maturing and you're still stuck in the same routine as if nothing has changed for you."
"You aren't married?" she asked directly and he found himself squirming under her gaze.
"No, I'm not."
"Am I married?"
"No," he quietly said.
"I didn't think so," she agreed nodding "there wasn't a ring on my finger...but it could've been taken from me. Please, tell me more about myself."
Niles sighed, feeling unsure of what to tell her exactly. It occurred to him, of course, that he had the power to crush her by explaining about their relationship, her feelings for Maxwell and her cold attitude. But at the same time he also knew that he couldn't do that. Despite the cruel behaviour she was displaying at times she was just human and he had no right to destroy her. And apart from that her completely change in nature was making it difficult to hate her.
"Well, Miss Babcock, I am only the butler, so my information is limited."
The old C.C. would've laughed at this, would've known about his insatiable curiosity and he felt a sudden pang of sadness that nothing in her face pointed at a recollection.
"I don't know why you keep bringing up your profession," she said, annoyance mixing in her tone "and call me C.C. .. it's only fair since I'm calling you by your fist name."
"I've been Maxwell's butler for quite some time, because it's a family business, so to speak. My father was his father's butler and so on and so forth. That's why I moved with him to New York City and that's how I met you. You were 26, brunette and incredibly cocky."
He laughed softly and was surprised when she lowered her eyes, as if ashamed by previous actions she had no control over.
"You and Sara Sheffield gradually became friends and Maxwell began to see that you were much too smart to be simply used as a secretary."
Niles omitted the long period in between, where they had fought, where she had openly drooled over Maxwell and where only Sara had been capable of reaching her.
"You had some ups and downs but you are a very good business woman, C.C., determined, calculating, and persuasive. So it wasn't surprising that the first hit Maxwell landed was a play chosen by you. He hadn't seen the potential but you kept nagging him, threatening to quit and eventually, with a few words from Sara, he gave in. We were all so proud of you, but then Max went and took the credit. He does that quite often and I am used to it by now...but you weren't and it upset you. You fought long and hard about it and I admired you for that..."
He was comfortably seated in the chair now, unaware of his surroundings and completely lost in the memory.
"What about us, Niles?" C.C. quietly interrupted "What about our relationship?"
It felt foreign to hear her talk like that, odd to have her call it a relationship.
"It's like I said, C.C.," he answered, carefully choosing the words "we don't really know each other. I am the butler, you are the socialite, I greet you at the door, sometimes I bring you food...that's about it."
He stopped, unable to get closer to the truth, fearing to hurt her.
"Visiting hours are over, Mr. Brightmore." Nurse Anna gently said, sticking her head inside the room.
"Alright," he said nodding and rose to his feet to put his coat back on.
"Will you come back tomorrow?" C.C. asked, extending her hand.
"If you want me to?" he said in return, taking her hand and giving it a light squeeze.
"Yes," she replied, holding on to his hand "and next time please tell me the truth."
"What do you mean?" he asked nervously.
"You keep saying we're only the butler and the socialite. But I think there's more to it, after all, you know surprisingly much about me and I wish I could remember what happened in the past...I would like to know what made your eyes shine like that."