Hello, Hello!:) I just quickly wanted to thank you for the lovely reviews and a big thanks to those of you who are reading this and/or adding it to their favourites, putting it on alert etc. !:) So we're already on chapter 14 and slowly our favourite couple will get closer again!Just a little note here as well, I'm going to Sweden for a month come tomorrow, but we should have an Internet connection at my mum's new apartment, but I just wanted to let you know just in case something does go wrong. R&R please and I hope you'll enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but a headache...

Chapter 14: Bonding

Although C.C. had sworn to get rid of Nanny Fine somehow, nothing seemed to work. Every time she thought that Fran had messed things up horribly she would always find a way to get back into Maxwell's good graces and C.C. begrudgingly had to admit that although not very intelligent, the woman was at least resilient. Of course, C.C. herself had concocted plans to send the dreadful woman back where she belonged, but somehow she always failed, sometimes even so bad that Maxwell or Niles noticed what she was up to and she was, once again, the bitch of Broadway. She sighed, releasing the smoke she had inhaled when taking a drag from her cigarette. Feeling lonely was one of the worst experiences a person could make and in C.C.'s case this could only be topped when feeling alone while being surrounded by other people.

She hadn't grown up in a family in which love was a natural given, as it was the case in so many other families, love needed to be achieved, worked for somehow. Her mother had always taken particular pride in the Babcock family name and her father, well, as long as one had a successful career it was impossible to feel lonely, wasn't it? When her parents had split up she thought her mother was going to fall apart but that her father would be fine, seeing as he still had his job. Then one evening she had tiptoed past the library, only to find her dad hunched over a couple of books looking smaller than he had ever done before. He didn't cry, he didn't need to, she could tell by his posture that he had lost something vital and as quickly as that the first doubts crept into her head. If work was all it took to keep someone going, then why did he look so broken? Careful not to make any noise, she had sneaked inside the room, approaching him from behind. She had tried to collect all her courage, before wrapping her arms around him and pressing her small body against his back. Her father didn't even flinch but accepted her love wordlessly and as she tried her best not to cry, she drew strength from knowing that she seemed to have done something right. And so it would be for a long time after, she would always try to be the strong person, without getting anything back. That was until she had met Sara again after all this time, seeing her every day with Maxwell and Niles and later on the children had given her a sense of what a family could be like. Of course she was aware that she had never been as accepted as the butler had been, but it was so easy for Niles to share his love, to be open and unafraid that he might get hurt. She, however, had been brought up believing that if she ever attempted to open her heart, she'd get hurt.

And now that Nanny Fine had entered the household the Sheffields were finally becoming a family again, the difference being, that C.C. wasn't part of it. She didn't know, at least not consciously, what she had done to deserve the icy treatment of the children, but she found it frustrating that, despite her cold exterior this simple fact managed to hurt her. But somehow she thought that there was no way out now, Nanny Fine had been cast as the heroine and she as the villain, so why even attempt to change what was a natural given? Every time she watched the woman interact with the children she found herself acting like her mother: She told tales of her own childhood, but not with the bitterness she actually felt, but with a certain pride in her tone. She knew that things were getting out of hand, that by doing so she kept losing pieces of herself, but somehow she didn't know what else to do…how could she change if no-one saw her for who she was?

"I know they call you ice queen for a reason, Babs, but aren't you the least bit cold out here?" the butler's voice asked and startled her, for she hadn't even heard him enter the balcony.

"I was just smoking, you know that Maxwell won't allow it in the house." she muttered, realizing only too late that she had long since finished and the remains of the cigarette were scattered across the floor.

"Is the nicotine finally clogging your brain?" he asked, humour mixing with worry in his tone, as he swept up the ashes and the stub.

"I'm stressed… I have a lot of things on my plate, right now." she found herself answering truthfully.

"I noticed, you've been smoking like someone determined to kill himself." Niles commented, surprised by her honesty "Though I pretty much doubt that it's work related."

"What's it to you, Butler Boy?" she snapped, suddenly feeling the need to withdraw from his warmth.

He shrugged and continued working for a while, before he fixed her with his deep blue eyes. "I just needed a hobby. You know, not everyone has as much time on their hands as you do to focus all their energy on devising plans and schemes.."

"Where are you going with this?" she snapped.

"Your desperate attempts to get rid of Miss Fine." he said.

"Should've known you wouldn't like it, she's practically your love interest, the amount of time you two are spending together."

"Oh careful there, Babs, you almost sound jealous!" he smirked.

"Yes, Niles, you can see right through me!" she mocked with a dramatic gesture "I can't even make up my mind whom I am more jealous of: Nanny Fine because she's got you wrapped around her little finger, or you because you're wasting your time with a woman who could never replace Sara!"

Nothing but silence followed, making C.C. aware of the little hints of truth that were hidden behind her sarcasm. The softness in his eyes startled her and made her feel extremely uncomfortable at the same time. She willed herself to come up with a witty phrase, something that would make her last sentence seem less important but her mind was still trying to deal with the overwhelming sensation of longing she felt for that man right in front of her.

Niles, in the meantime, was also trying to find the right words. Seeing C.C. Babcock speechless was a rare occurrence and he knew that he had to make the most of it, but the trouble was where to begin? Should he mention her obvious jealousy over the friendship he and Fran shared or should he ensure her that Fran would never replace Sara but, at the same time, was a much needed mother figure for the children? It was almost ridiculous how important this decision would be, he couldn't afford to slip up. He mused that it was almost as crazy as if trying to pet a crocodile…the only difference being that the crocodile would swallow you whole, while C.C. would enjoy toying with you beforehand.

"Miss Fine is not as bad as you think." was what he finally settled for.

"She's walking around in a mini skirt at her age, yes, I can see why you and Maxwell wouldn't mind that at all." she said frustrated.

At the mention of his employer's name something snapped inside him and his temper flared up at once.

"To think for a moment that you'd even care about Sara being replaced! You are just mad because Nanny Fine is twice the woman you are and is wooing Maxwell easily, while you have been trying to get into his-"

"NYULES!" Fran's voice pierced the air and luckily stopped him from saying even more things he would later on regret.

"Coming, Miss Fine!" he yelled back , tightening his hold on the broom, before looking back at C.C. who stood there with clenched fists "The sooner you realize that Miss Fine is good for this family, the better, because otherwise you will end up alone…oh wait, you already are!" and he whirled around, leaving C.C. on the balcony.

She stared after him for a while, before snapping open her purse and lighting another cigarette. He was right, of course, Nanny Fine was young and vibrant and Maxwell was hopelessly devoted to her, like it or not. But that wasn't really what was on her mind, it was that damn confusing butler. One moment he would look at her as if he understood what was going on inside her and then the next he would insult her. How could she even attempt to go back to the way they were when he kept being so unpredictable? Good lord…he was right about that too, she did miss him…

Niles wasn't really surprised to find Fran Fine in her room trying on different outfits- her voice could travel very far.

"Yes, Miss Fine?" he asked politely, knocking on the door to alert her to his presence.

"Come in here, Nyules!" she yelled, looking at him through the mirror.

He covered his ears with a smirk and said: "Miss Fine, I am quite happy to keep my hearing for a few more years."

"Stop being a shmegegge and help me." she said, tugging at the gold sequined top she was wearing.

"As much as I'd love to get you out of that outfit, I wouldn't want to make Mr. Sheffield jealous." he said with a grin.

"NYULES, YOU'RE A GENIUS!" Fran exclaimed, her voice growing shriller by the minute.

"I wasn't being serious," he hurried to say "besides, I don't think it would be appropriate to use me to make Mr. Sheffield jealous, I really cannot afford to lose my job."

"Serious or not, the idea is what I needed and I don't wanna offend ya, but really Niles…why would I even try ta make him jealous with ya? I need someone young and sexy…oy, first I needa showa though, I'm all vershvitzt."

And with that she shooed him out of the room. He rolled his eyes, it was always good to know one could be of assistance…Apart from another hit that his self-esteem had taken though he was almost certain that her plan wouldn't work. Yes, Mr. Sheffield would be jealous because he was clearly very taken with her, but Niles had tried all of that before in an attempt to get them together… but it hadn't worked, Mr. Sheffield would always find a way out. He shrugged and made a beeline for the kitchen.

He didn't see Fran again for the rest of the day and could only assume what she was up to, when he heard Maxwell yelling "Miss Fiiiine!" He switched on the intercom to find out what the brunette had done this time and realized with a smile that surprisingly her plan seemed to have worked. From the ongoing conversation he could gather that Fran had had a series of dates, all conveniently ending somewhere where Maxwell would stumble upon them, always locked in a heated kiss. At first he had been raging with jealousy but then after Fran had been dumped several times, had felt so bad that he was determined the only man to cheer her up was him. Niles could clearly detect the triumph in Fran's voice, seeing as she had orchestrated it all to be that way, now the only person that could destroy it all was… "Hello, Hello!"

Without a clear plan of action in mind, Niles ran through the kitchen and headed towards the office. If C.C. would manage to change Maxwell's mind again Fran would be devastated, leaving Niles to listen to her whining for hours and providing her with an overwhelming amount of food. Barging into the room instantly all eyes were on him and he quickly wiped the sweat from his forehead, before saying:

"Miss Babcock, New York taxis called, you left your dog in the cab again."

"I'll pick him up later." C.C. said with a dismissive wave of the hand.

"Well, he tried to escape and ran on the street where he got hit by a bus."

For a fraction of a second he doubted that she would even believe him, but to his surprise, C.C. jumped to her feet and bidding goodbye ran from the room.

"Little Chesta?" Fran began to cry "But he was such a cute little boy…I can't believe he got killed."

And she willingly moved into Maxwell's waiting arms.

"There, there, Miss Fine, it's not so bad. What do you say, you pick something nice to wear and I take you out for some lobster?" he offered.

"I couldn't eat a…meanwhile, dontcha like what I'm wearin' now?"

"Of course I do, Miss Fine, I just thought maybe you wanted to wear something special, given the occasion, maybe even something Chester would've liked!" he tried and behind Fran's back, Niles was giving him the thumbs up.

"Alright and I could wear my red stilettos, he always loved ta play with em…"and with that she freed herself of Maxwell's embrace and walked towards her room.

"Nice safe, Sir." Niles commented dryly, before moving on to discuss his employer's outfit.

Late that night Niles was sitting at the kitchen table, spooning large amounts of ice cream from the Ben&Jerry's carton in front of him. He didn't want to feel depressed but somehow he couldn't help it. Earlier on he had seen Maxwell and Fran out of the door and although still in "nanny and the boss" mode, the look in their eyes had given them away. And suddenly a wave of melancholy had hit Niles, the desire to feel what they were feeling so strong that he had to stop himself from going out to a bar and pick up the next best woman. Even if he had done so it wouldn't be the same, it wouldn't fill the void in his life. Although, come to think of it, it wouldn't do any harm to see a sexually attractive woman once in a while.

"I cannot believe that you would stoop so low." An angry voice said and he found himself confronted with a furious C.C. Babcock "I know you hated me, but to tell me that my dog was dead…if that's your idea of a joke then you're really sick!"

He saw her fingers curl around a mug on the counter and flew to his feet, expecting her to hurl it at him any second.

"Have a seat, I'll make you a cup of tea." he said with a calm he wasn't really feeling.

"You don't seriously think I would-"

"Sit, Babcock!" he said again "Like a good doggie."

The last statement was seemingly too much as C.C. was at his throat in an instant. Blinded by fury she tried to hit him and scratch him, any way to hurt him,but he easily blocked her assault and wrapped his hands around her wrists to keep her still.

"You are behaving like a child." he said calmly.

"You told me my dog was killed!" she spat, tears springing to her eyes before she could help it.

"I thought you didn't even care about Chester."

"Of course I do!" she practically yelled now, using the opportunity to punch him once he let go of her.

She had hit him hard and he felt the bruise that was surely to develop just beneath his collarbone.

"I should've known, I'm sorry." he apologized, observing the stormy blue of her eyes as she fought desperately for the last shreds of dignity "But I had my reasons.."

"Probably something stupid concerning Maxwell and Nanny Fine…" she muttered, turning around to sit down at the table.

"I just want them to be happy." he replied with a shrug and proceeded to put the kettle on as if nothing had happened.

"Look where that's gotten you." C.C. scoffed, gesturing around the empty kitchen.

"At least they might-"

"But will they thank you?" she asked rhetorically "Will they even think about you if they get together? I saw them a few weeks ago, when Maxwell kissed her to thank her…they like each other, but trust me once they are together you won't be the great hero. You may fight for them now, you might fight me because you think I'm the bad one but at the end of the day, Niles, you'll end up alone, just like me!"

He stared at her while she spoke, shocked by all the bitterness that came bursting out. Numbly he added sugar to her tea and began to stir it, musing that she was right as well- there was only so long that he could spend living off other people's love. Caring for others brought satisfaction, of course, but it wouldn't quench his thirst for warmth. And C.C. was similar; always carrying the weight of other people's problems she would be the last one to receive something herself. It wasn't an epiphany, he had known that before, but through years of pretending he had temporarily forgotten that she wasn't naturally a bad person- just complicated. Placing the mug in front of her, he drew up a chair and sat down next to her.

"I'm really sorry about Chester, I shouldn't have done that." he apologized again and with a slow nod his behavior was excused "That doesn't give you the right, though, to steal my spoon."

A wicked grin stole across her features as she lifted a full spoon from the carton to languidly lick the ice cream off.

"You better get your own spoon, Dust Buster."