Oook, so you are probably going to kill me now!-_- As the title suggests, things aren't exactly running smoothly for our favourite two...but before I will duck for cover, let me just tell you this:It's gonna be the last time, I promise! This story only has 2 more chapters left and it will have a happy ending...but there's a reason for this, as you will discover in the next chapter!:p In the meantime, please review and let me know what you think, I realise that my writing isn't particularly good in this chapter right now... :/ Anyway, I just thought I'd let you know, as well, that I have another "M" story in the works, which I am hoping to publish at the weekend!;)

Disclaimer: I don't own anything, apart from a new pair of shoes and a new top!lol

Chapter 20: Trouble in Paradise

Niles didn't know how it had happened, but suddenly he was faced with a number of close encounters, kissing encounters, that is. It had all started that day in the bathroom, when C.C. had wiped the yoghurt from the corner of his mouth. It was a sudden moment when realization dawned on him and the air seemed to sizzle with delicious tension. C.C. seemed to have reached the same conclusion, for she kept the eye contact, challenging him to make the first move. But Niles, all too aware of her sparkling blue eyes, the light weight of her body pressed against his and her luscious red lips, had waited a second too long and the moment was gone. As if that wasn't bad enough, God seemed to have particular fun in presenting him with more and more opportunities that, sadly, never led to a successful result. It didn't help matters one bit, that Maxwell Sheffield was planning to propose to Fran Fine, an important event that required all of the butler's help if things were supposed to run smoothly. So love was in the air and yet it seemed impossible for him and C.C. to take that vital step forward. At one point it was getting so bad that he couldn't even perform his job, without staring at the gorgeous blonde, sprawled out on the green love seat. Of course it wouldn't have been so bad if staring was all he had done, but as soon as his eyes were processing the images, his mind was coming up with completely different pictures, indeed. Everything suddenly seemed to be sensual and Niles shamefully remembered his teenage days, when this last had been the case. It probably would have helped him a lot to know that he wasn't the only one dealing with those issues, for one Miss Chastity Claire Babcock was having thoughts that were anything but chaste.

One day as she watched Niles painting the chairs out on the balcony, she found herself paying particular attention to his strong arms and toned chest. The working-out routine he had started after his heart attack clearly seemed to be paying off. It was a beautiful spring day in New York City and he was crouching in front of a chair, paint brush in hand and his white T-shirt showing traces of blue colour. He was enjoying the sunshine, though not necessarily the task he had been given, but at least it meant that he was out in the fresh air. Just then his musings were interrupted when the click of stiletto heels announced the nearing of his favourite nemesis. His eyes travelled up her ankles, to her calves and her white trademark pencil skirt. They rested for a moment on her firm stomach that was hidden behind the aqua satin of the bow top she was wearing, before they finally reached her face. Lifting his hand to block out the sun, he had to squint to see the look she was giving him, but he was glad to find she was smiling.

"Why Dust Buster, do you need every dollar so badly you are now ready to do just anything or is Maxwell so sick of seeing you that he has set you this outdoor task on purpose?"

"Did it ever occur to you that maybe I just wanted to get as far away from you as I possibly could?" he retorted, getting to his feet.

She still hadn't stopped smiling and because of that that, combined with the sunshine that made every thread of her blonde hair seem golden, he was hard pressed for a witty comeback.

"I think you're losing your touch, Butler Boy." she teased.

"How would you know, you've never experienced it."

C.C. suddenly felt very warm and tried desperately to blame it on the weather. While she tried to figure out a good response, it suddenly occurred to her that standing next to Niles and a pot of paint might not have been the best idea. And just as she took a step backwards, he seemed to realize the same.

"Why, Babs, if I didn't know any better I'd say you are terrified of a little paint and I thought your kind was only allergic to water." he quipped, moving dangerously close to her, paint brush still in hand.

"I'm not scared," she said, lifting her chin stubbornly "I can only see what a rotten job you have done so far."

Looking down at himself he merely shrugged and continued approaching her until he had her cornered.

"What luck, you are wearing a white skirt!" he whispered, taking his time and drinking her all in "But don't worry, this colour will match your top."

"You wouldn't dare!" she hissed.

"We both know that's an empty threat, as a matter of fact, I do believe there isn't anything I haven't done."

"That's not true." she whispered and her body responded immediately.

She could almost feel him, though he hadn't touched her, and the anticipation made the hairs on her neck stand on end. She nervously looked into his eyes that seemed darker somehow, before lowering her gaze to his lips. Just as he was inching closer, Maxwell's loud voice boomed: "NILES!" In the brief moment before she closed her eyes in frustration, she saw something like impatience flicker through his. She kept her eyes closed, trying to steady her breathing while listening to the sound of his retreating steps, only that sound never came. Instead his warm hands came in contact with her cheek and she had to look at him.

"Tell me ,Babs," he asked, his voice a little husky "would you like to be my date for Mr. Sheffield's engagement party?"

The "yes" that escaped her throat sounded so unlike her regular speaking voice, high-pitched somehow and bearing a striking resemblance to her voice when he had pulled that chicken prank on her. The warmth of his smile and the relief in his eyes rendered her speechless for a moment, and so all she could do was watch him walk back into the house.

Niles, though disgruntled as he was by his employer's interruption, still felt incapable of losing the smug grin that had crept over his face. So far she hadn't pushed him away and there clearly couldn't have been any doubts as to his intentions.

"You bellowed, Sir?" he asked when he reached the bottom of the stairs.

To his surprise Maxwell seemed quite agitated.

"Yes, I called, five bloody times! Now what is Miss Fine doing chatting to that taxi driver?"

"I don't know, Sir, telling him the story of Cousin Felix with that shoe fetish?" Niles deadpanned.

"You know very well what I mean." his employer pressed through gritted teeth "In a moment a dozen people will arrive here to sort out the preparations for tonight and she wasn't supposed to be among them!"

Realizing just how on edge his employer was, Niles hurried to say: "You go back to the office, I am going to deal with her."

"Dressed like this?" Maxwell asked.

"Excuse me, Sir, I wasn't aware that you wanted me to paint your chairs in my best suit."

Catching the bitterness in the other man's tone, Max nodded hurriedly and made his retreat, while Niles quickly stepped outside to greet Fran.

"Wowee, mistah," she exclaimed, tearing her gaze away from the frightened looking cabbie "that rugged look is really working for ya."

"Miss Fine, has it really come so far that you have bought every single…special… outfit in the whole of New York? You are back surprisingly early." he tried carefully.

"Wow, if Miss Babcock and you wouldn't hate each otha so much… I swear, you have so much in common."

"What makes you say that?" he asked, trying to appear nonplussed.

"She said something very similar to me just the other day. Meanwhile, what are ya trying ta hide?"

"Hide? Me? Nothing." he said, attempting to look as innocent as possible, though he could see that she wasn't convinced.

"Spill it, Mistah!" she ordered.

"It's nothing." he said seriously.

"Oh my God, it's my motha, isn't it? She's eaten too much and now she's in hospital…and…and…"

"Calm down." Niles said, soothingly rubbing her back "It's something really positive. Ah, to hell with it," he continued, seeing the frightened look that still lingered on Fran's face "Mr. Sheffield is going to propose tonight."

"He's goin' ta-" she exclaimed loudly, before Niles covered her mouth with his hand.

"Shush, or you'll get me fired. But yes, he's planned this big party for you tonight, but he was counting on you being away the entire day."

"Ok…ok, I can do that. I'll just go to Ma's…" suddenly she gasped in shock.

"What is it now?" Niles asked impatiently.

"I'm gonna needa dress!" she explained.

"Why?"

"Hellooo, I'm getting proposed to tonight!" she said loudly.

"But you're not even supposed to-"

"But I do, so run, get me a dress!"

Niles sighed and hung his head in defeat, there was no point arguing with her. On his way to her room he heard two voices drifting to him from across the hall, Maxwell's bedroom. He only stopped and listened when he noticed that one of the voices belonged to C.C.

"Maxwell, this is ridiculous! The man's an absolute bore, I'd never be caught dead with him."

"I know that he can be a bit tiring, but-"

"Tiring? He's a small-minded idiot who shouldn't try and mix with people of a higher class."

Niles swallowed, listening intently.

"Do I have to remind you of our deal? He's a good friend and you have to cut him some slack and if I remember correctly you are being paid for it as well, so it wouldn't kill you to be nicer."

Niles rapidly turned around, deciding that he had heard enough. So it had all been a scam, C.C.'s feelings, the visit at the hospital…all brought on by Maxwell's pity. He didn't know what was worse, that, or the fact that she only did it because she received money in return. Remembering Fran's dress he strode down the corridor and into her room, fighting the urge to slam his fist into a wall. C.C.'s betrayal made the bile rise to his throat and tears sting in his eyes. Selecting the first dress he could reach, he roughly grabbed it and walked back downstairs to Fran.

"That's the dress you picked for my engagement party?" she whined, as he shoved the orange low-cut dress into her arms.

"They all look the same." he gruffly said and turned on his heels, slamming the front door shut behind him.

C.C. was glad to have the afternoon off, for she desperately needed to talk to Dr. Bort. She decided that she had lived with the wild mess of emotions for far too long and with the impending date, it was definitely time for some deep analysis. Being aware that she had to be back early enough for Nanny Fine's engagement party only added to her nervousness, as she sat in the waiting room, rifling through magazine articles.

"Miss Babcock? Dr. Bort is ready for you now." the secretary told her politely and C.C. rose to her feet, giving her a curt nod.

The brunette greeted the blonde with a smile and asked her to sit down, while she finished her last notes.

"So, tell me, Miss Babcock, what's on your mind?" she then asked.

"Well, ever since Niles' heart attack we have become closer somehow." C.C. started timidly.

Angelica Bort nodded, remembering the event very well and the state her patient had been in. It seemed to have been a wake-up call for her, at least in such a way that she had realized that he was important to her and... there was something else too. Ever since the incident had occurred, C.C. had started calling him by his first name, he was Niles now, instead of "the butler".

"And well," C.C. continued "over the past week there have been moments where…we were very close to kissing each other."

Though she was a professional, Dr. Bort had serious trouble hiding her glee about that particular development.

"Did you want him to kiss you?"

"At first I was feeling very nervous about it," C.C. explained, chewing her lip pensively "and I even made excuses so I could run away, clear my head…but then today, I just really wanted him to kiss me."

Bort watched with a smile as C.C.'s mind caught up with her last sentence, she seemed genuinely surprised and quite frankly, overwhelmed.

"Tell me what happened today, Miss Babcock."

"Oh, I was just teasing him, as always, and he was teasing back and then he threatened to paint my skirt and he…he just moved to stand so close to me…I could feel his breath on my skin, see the rise and fall of his chest…I could see that he wanted me…"

"You seem aroused." Dr. Bort probed.

"Well, wouldn't you be?" C.C. shot back, before she seemed to realize who she was talking to. Clearing her voice, she then said: "But the point is, we were interrupted again, but he asked me to be his date for Maxwell's engagement party."

"Did you accept?"

"Yes." C.C. replied with a shy smile.

"I think you will find your answer there."

"An answer…to what question?"

"You're wondering, are you not, if this is merely a case of lust, or if there's something else?"

At 7 p.m. C.C. found herself in front of the Sheffield residence, shivering under the light evening breeze. The front few strands of her shoulder-long blonde hair had been pulled to the back, where they were held in place by a silver clip. Her make-up was subtle yet effective, the rouge pronouncing her high cheekbones and the light eye shadow drawing attention to her blue orbs. She wore a black halter neck dress that she had bought especially for the occasion, it was knee-long and the v-neck cut showed off her cleavage beautifully. She knew for a fact that she looked stunning, maybe even too good for someone else's engagement party, but she was a Babcock and determined to meet her fears head on: Tonight, she would finally discover if there could be more between her and Niles. She rang the doorbell, certain that he would answer it, but instead she was greeted by Maxwell.

"Go and join everyone in the kitchen," he told her, not even losing a single word about her outfit "Fran should be here any minute."

C.C. rolled her eyes and shrugged, wondering what the hell he had to be nervous about, Nanny Fine was so desperate to get married, she'd hardly say "no". The kitchen was packed as the entire Fine clan was in attendance, all of which were hovering by the door, hoping to hear the proposal. C.C. pushed her way through half the Jewish population of New York City, but she didn't find the twinkling blue eyes she had hoped to see. Helping herself to some Scotch she tried to calm her nerves, Niles was probably needed, maybe he was even driving Fran…

She hadn't been far off, really, as Niles was at that moment leading Fran into the darkened Sheffield mansion. After his job was done he closed the front door behind Fran, leaving her completely alone.

"Max?" she asked, looking around in the dimly lit room.

"Yes, my darling." he replied, striding down the stairs.

"Did we get robbed?" she asked, feigning ignorance.

"No, I just wanted to be alone with you for this. You know how grateful I am to have you, you brought me back to life, as a matter of fact, and you helped the children. We all love you so very much and Fran Fine, that's why I'm asking you, would you like to be my wife?"

"Ya not goin' ta take it back, are ya?" she asked, giving a suspicious glance.

"Of course not, darling."

"Yes, of course, I'll marry you." she exclaimed, holding out her hand.

After he had slid the ring onto her finger, he swept her up in his arms.

"I'm just so happy! Meanwhile, ya couldn't have found a bigger stone?"

The words "Miss Fine!" were just about to leave his lips, when luckily the situation was saved by Sylvia, who barged into the room, hugging her daughter. The rest of the clan soon followed and so did C.C., feeling oddly out of place. She watched the scene in front of her for several minutes, before she decided that she needed another drink. She had just taken a first sip when she caught sight of Niles who had reentered the house. He looked stunning in a blue polo shirt and black pants, his hair neatly combed, but something was wrong. His smile looked strangely forced and the normal sparkle in his eyes was gone. He saw her too in her beautiful dress, looking utterly forlorn, but he reminded himself of the conversation he had overheard and made a hasty retreat up the stairs. C.C., who never backed down from a fight, followed suit and caught him in the upstairs corridor.

"Aren't you forgetting something?" she asked, though the smile on her face lingered, her voice betrayed her impatience.

He didn't answer but simply stared at her coldly.

"Niles, what has gotten into you?" she asked again "You asked me to be your date, remember?"

He had to give her some credit; she certainly was a good actress, for a moment he nearly believed the hurt in her eyes.

"Please, you took me seriously? I was only toying with you, I felt so sorry for your bad luck with men, so I made you believe I wanted you. I can't believe you bought that, Babcock, I mean, look at you!"

The pain extorted her features and a strangled sound escaped her throat. She felt as if he had burnt her, mocked and humiliated her with every word, but she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of seeing her tears.

Holding her head high, she spat: "You are a pathetic excuse for a man!" and turning around on her heel, she left.

"Pity hurts, doesn't it?" Niles spoke into the silence she had left him with.