[A/N: And so we have reached the final chapter of this silly little story that came to mean so much to me. Thank you, thank you so much for the kind reviews. You all make me smile. But overall, I dedicate this story to Kate, one of my best friends. This past year was probably the hardest of my life, and when I needed a friend, she was there for me. It might seem like a small act, but it isn't, and she's honestly one of the most kind-hearted and funniest people I know. I'm forever grateful for her presence in my life-not just the amazingly fantastic reviews she leaves on my work. So go read her stuff (Kate811).]
8.
one year later
"Bloody Christian feast," Niles muttered to himself as he tilted open the oven to check on the ham. "Well, yes, Niles, we could order a honey-baked ham," Niles continued, mimicking his employer's voice as he remained in front of the stove, stirring the carrots he was caramelizing, "but where's the fun in that, old man?"
He felt two arms slide around him and even more delightfully felt the hard bump of her stomach against his back. "Don't tell me you're going senile already, lover," CC said in his ear.
Niles smiled and closed his eyes in pleasure as CC kissed the back of his neck. "No, baby, my mind's not gone soft yet."
"Oh, your mind can go soft," CC told him, turning him around to give him a kiss. "But nothing else can."
Niles ran an appreciative hand down her curves made more voluptuous by pregnancy. "With you around, that's impossible." He grasped her hand and twirled her in front of him, her plum-colored wrap dress highlighting her curves and her 6-month pregnant belly. "You look beautiful, love."
"You look terrible," CC returned, fixing his hair. "Busy morning?"
"It's all right. I just bloody hate feasts," Niles told her.
"You could quit and depend on your sugar mama," CC reminded him, half-jokingly.
Niles looked at her mock-sternly and ignored the comment, worried that it would be too tempting an offer at a time like this. He pressed a soft hand to her protruding stomach, instantly distracted and filled with excitement. "Is your morning going well?"
"It would have been fine if someone hadn't woken me up when he left," CC told him, pouting her lips out attractively. Niles took the bait and leaned in, giving her a lingering kiss.
"I knew that would happen, which is why I offered to sleep here since I had to wake up so early."
"Not again," CC said severely.
Niles laughed, remembering the night before Thanksgiving when he had insisted that he sleep in his old room at the Sheffield's so that CC could enjoy a full night's rest, which she'd struggled to do in the first few months of her pregnancy. He'd applauded himself for being so considerate until he'd received a call at 3am from an extremely angry CC, claiming that his absence prevented her from falling asleep. Niles hadn't minded, though; he'd relished in her dependence on him even before they'd found out she was pregnant, so he happily travelled back to her penthouse and had climbed into bed with her.
One of the kitchen timers he'd set up went off, so Niles turned to attend to it while CC inspected the buzzing from her purse. Niles looked over interestedly as CC answered her phone, smiling when he saw CC place her left hand absently on her belly.
"Hi, Noel…no, I haven't opened it yet," CC said. A familiar exasperated expression came over her face as she stood up straighter. "Well, pardon me, but I've been a little busy…yes, yes, fine, I'll open it. It might be in my purse…what? Fine…yeah, Merry Christmas…bye." CC hung up her cell phone and rolled her eyes, rustling through her large black bag.
"Your brother?" Niles guessed, stirring the glaze for the ham.
"He wants me to open the Christmas card he sent me," CC said, rolling her eyes. "Ah, here it is!" She unearthed it from her bag, a little creased and worse for the wear.
Niles turned back to his busy stovetop, momentarily placated at his progress. CC's sudden burst into laughter startled him and he turned back around to face her.
"Oh my God, this is wonderful," CC said, the torn envelope on the counter and a photo Christmas card in her hand. "This is the best thing I've ever received in the mail."
"There's something written on the back," Niles said, motioning to it.
CC turned it around and began laughing again in earnest. Niles grinned at the rich, open sound of it. He hadn't heard enough of it over the years, but the past year it had resurfaced wonderfully. She laughed until she grimaced a little bit. "Now I have to pee."
"My debutante," Niles remarked, walking around the island and standing next to her. She showed him the card and waited for his reaction. "Is that…?"
"Yes!" CC said gleefully, looking again at the picture of Noel, Andrew, and a chocolate Labrador between them on a park bench. Their arms draped over each other's on the back of the bench, and they smiled happily, their heads tilted slightly towards each other. In red and green script, Happy Holidays from Noel, Andrew, and Rosie took up the bottom portion of the picture. CC flipped the card around so he could read Noel's note on the back: I sent one to Mummy, too. Cheers! xo Noel.
Niles laughed and shook his head. "Did you know about Andrew?"
"No! But you know, he said something that one day we had lunch," CC said thoughtfully, tapping the picture against her chin. "Something about it not being ideal for both of us but especially for him. I didn't ask what he meant."
"Your mother will love it," Niles said, placing his hand on her waist and caressing it gently.
"I can't wait," CC said, her face beaming. She leaned over and planted a quick kiss on his cheek. "But your daughter just kicked my bladder and now I really have to pee." She laughed at the dreamy look he got on his face whenever she said your daughter to him and squeezed his arm before hurrying off to the restroom.
When she was finished, CC turned left and headed into the living room, once again greeting the Sheffield's whom she'd bypassed in search of her lover in the kitchen. The detritus of Christmas wrapping paper and bows on the floor told CC that they'd already opened presents.
"The kids insisted," Fran blurted out, at which point all three children protested loudly that, in fact, their stepmother had wheedled them into opening gifts without CC present. Fran shushed them, motioning to the fourth and newest Sheffield child, sleeping soundly in her arms.
CC laughed and smiled graciously as Maxwell stood up, offering her the oversized armchair near the fire. "I understand. Did you at least wait to open the presents I got for you all?"
This time, they all looked sheepish, and it was Maxwell who spoke. "I did ask them to wait, CC. Er…I love the new suit, though."
"You're welcome," CC said, repeating the sentiment when the rest of the Sheffields gushed over the gifts she'd given them.
"Now it's your turn!" Maggie said; she and Grace stood with a pile of gifts and presented them to her.
In true Jewish superstitious tradition, CC received nothing for the baby from any of them, but most of the presents reflected her current state anyhow. The children had purchased her a "mommy pampering day" at her favorite spa; the gift touched her, knowing how much it likely cost and knowing, somehow, that the children would have insisted on using their allowance and not taken extra from their parents. Maxwell presented her with a sumptuous pair of ergonomic slippers, and Fran spent five minutes exhorting how much the same slippers had helped her through the last trimester of her own pregnancy when the back pain became too much.
Niles, who had entered the room just as CC had opened the envelope containing the spa gift certificate, rubbed CC's back lightly as she kicked off her black flats and slid her feet into the slippers. "Finally, I can stop with the foot massages."
CC arched her eyebrow and gave Niles such a withering look that he actually shrank a little in size.
"Would-would you like me to give you one now?" he asked nervously. CC chuckled and swatted at his knee, reaching for a large, slightly heavy box.
"It's from both of us," Fran said excitedly, bouncing as much as the infant would allow in her seat.
Curiously, CC ripped open the paper and pulled the top off of a plain white box. Inside, in a heavy slate metal frame, a strangely familiar toddler smiled at her from an 8x10 photograph. She knew those eyes and that lopsided smile…
"Oh my God," CC said, a laugh bubbling in her throat even as tears prickled near the backs of her eyes. "Is this you?" CC turned to Niles, who blushed slightly in embarrassment. What a chubby baby he'd been.
"I wrote to your parents, old man," Max told him, clearly proud of his thoughtfulness. "They were only too happy to send this along."
"Oh, I bet they were," Niles replied. "There's something below it, love,"
CC carefully lifted the frame out of the box and upon seeing what lay below it, she immediately tried to cover it back up again. Niles, too swift for her, pulled the frame from her grasp and gawked at the framed picture below his own. In an oversized bow and with an awkward but endearing smile on her face was a two-year-old CC Babcock, wearing—what else?—a small strand of pearls around her neck.
She looked over at Niles worriedly, anticipating the zingers heading her way, and blinked a few times, surprised to see a look of utter adoration on his face.
"I don't know what happened, Babcock, but you were the most beautiful child," Niles told her.
"And who knew that you never outgrew your baby fat?" she replied.
"Now if you wanted to put these pictures above a place where a baby might sleep in a room that might belong to a baby, you could," Fran told her, sidestepping any possible consequences by spitting three times at her feet. Niles grimaced at the thought of mopping it up, but CC only smiled, already imagining the design in her guest room-turned-nursery.
"Thank you," CC said genuinely, looking back at Niles's picture. She was utterly elated at the idea of having a daughter, and so looked forward to cultivating a relationship with her so unlike the one her mother had with her, but still, seeing Niles as a toddler made her want a little boy who looked just like his daddy.
They passed the frames around carefully so that the family could see, and Niles took advantage of momentarily having the attention away from them. He squeezed CC's knee and said softly, "I hope our daughter looks just like you."
"Even if she'll grow up with this face?" CC asked, pointing to her chin.
"Especially if she does," Niles said, kissing her cheek.
"Liar," CC whispered.
CC opened her remaining presents—several surprisingly pretty maternity dresses—and basked in the excitement of a pile of presents, just for her. Had she been more aware, she likely would have noticed the family's sudden shift, how Fran stood and left the room to place the baby in his crib, how the children began gathering the wrapping paper scraps and shoving them into a large garbage bag over near the piano, how Maxwell kept gesturing emphatically for his family to leave, how Fran returned and plopped herself down on the piano bench, staring at Niles and CC.
Niles gulped, watching CC hold up a soft cotton dress, and pulled a small box from his pocket. "You still have to open my present, CC."
If she noticed the nervousness in his voice, she didn't show it. "And you have to open mine! I left some at home, though. Best not to open them in public."
At that, Niles's nerves disappeared. That he had a place with CC, that she considered it home, reminded him of how damned lucky he was. He remembered how, barely over a year ago, he'd thought that this would never have been possible, and now it was not only possible, but they had created something that would forever link them to one another: a beautiful baby (if the sonograms were any indication, and both were adamant that they were).
"Here you go, baby," Niles said, handing her the box.
CC's smiled gleamed at him as she took the box and ripped the paper off of it. "Ooh," she said excitedly as she revealed a square velvet box. She opened the lid, expecting earrings or a bracelet, and gasped when she saw an emerald-cut diamond solitaire on a platinum band. The part of her brain capable of processing thought couldn't help but admire the cut and quality of the diamond, the sheen of the band.
She looked over at Niles and found him on one knee in front of the chair. He carefully took the box from her hand and balanced it on her legs so that he could hold both of her hands.
"CC," he said. He looked into her eyes, and CC felt, again, a powerful wave of love wash over her. She'd thought that surely, over time, this look he gave her would diminish in effect—not that it would stop affecting her, of course, but maybe that she'd just get used to it or (even worse) that he'd stop sending that look her way. But to her surprise and intense happiness, it hadn't. He looked at her like that, several times a day, and each time, she bathed in it, swathed in it, and reveled in it. He looked at her like he was the luckiest man in the world, like he loved her so much that he couldn't keep it all to himself: he had to share it with her.
"Yes," CC answered with a whisper, even though he hadn't even asked a question. Yes, she would marry him; yes, she promised to love him forever; yes, she would never, ever get tired of him looking at her like she was the center of his universe, as long as he understood that he was the center of hers, too.
"Marry me?" Niles asked, grinning at her.
"Yes!" she said, squeezing his hands before he let go so that he could slide the ring onto her finger. Distantly, she heard the Sheffields cheer and run back into the living room to shower their congratulations upon them, but CC ignored them as she almost always did and held onto Niles until the overwhelming current of emotion passed over her.
Niles clutched her in return, knowing she didn't want the others to see her with tears in her eyes, and pressed kisses to her neck and whispered in her ear until she began to laugh. With somewhat of a surprise, Niles watched as CC accepted a hug from Fran. His fiancée—his fiancée!—gave Fran a quick squeeze and the former nanny rubbed CC's back warmly, telling her how happy she was for her.
"Thank you," CC said, smiling. The friendship she'd forged with Fran had been one of the many pleasant changes in her life, and her impending motherhood, along with Fran's new motherhood, only brought them closer.
The biggest—and best—surprise the past year had brought her was how effortlessly her life with Niles had begun and continued. Their relationship required work, of course, as any did, but whatever false starts or awkward phases CC might have worried about didn't occur at all. She supposed the years of knowing each other beforehand helped. Whatever it was, the potentially jarring jolt she'd had from a life of solitary loneliness to one of shared happiness had instead been a smooth road.
Now, when CC placed her newly bejeweled left hand on her belly and reached up to brush Niles's hair back into place and Niles beamed at her, his face one of pure, undiluted happiness, she took a steadying breath and exhaled into what she knew was her happy place.