Disclaimer: I don't own any part or character from The Nanny…

A/N: So what are they going to do now?

CC was happy to just stay there in his arms. For that moment, his hand on her back alleviated her greatest fear -- that she was not alone. Her whole life, she never had felt like she could rely on anyone but herself. Her only real friend, Sara, had been the only person able to build a bridge to CC's heart, but when she died, CC had burned every bit of that bridge. It had hurt too much. She had tried with Maxwell, first for Sara's sake, then for her own, but he was lost in his own grief. And though she had come to think of him as a friend, he never put her needs in front of his own, the proof of that had been the night of the reunion, when Fran had had her tonsils removed. He chose waiting at the hospital rather than going with her.

She had been angry about that, betrayed, hurt…all those emotions that revealed she did care. How she had sworn she wouldn't after Sara, but somehow, even with the brash exterior and the whole "Bitch of Broadway" image, she knew that it was just an image. She had turned that betrayal into fuel, getting her through the last couple of years. Sure, she kept the appearance of wanting Maxwell, it was fun, and he had hurt her…Babcocks didn't just sit back and take it, after all.

She still had some hope that he would finally see the light, that they were perfect for each other, on paper anyways. He was well bred, they ran in the same circles…it would have been a great cover story for the theater world. Yet, she knew it would never last. She found him…pretty…not handsome. He didn't make her heart race, her mouth go dry, her insides quiver like…like Niles. She couldn't deny she was attracted to that man…she had just admitted it to him openly. But what did that mean? Did she love him? Or was it just a physical thing? Must be the latter, she rationalized. How could she love the man next to her, the man she loathed…

"I loathe you"

"I despise you"

"Servant"

"Trollop"

"Bell Boy"

"Brunette"

It was so vivid, the image so crystal clear, it felt like it was happening to her now. It was so intense, she shivered, forgetting where she really was.

"Are you cold?" Niles asked, concern evident in his voice.

What were they going to do now? He thought to himself and she leaned against him. His arm was wrapped around her and his hand was slowly calming her, moving up and down her back. It was nice to be sitting with her like this. In fact, the last three months had been very nice. They had been civil, they had been sharing more. He would never have suspected that she had any physical desire towards him, chalking up the few moments they had shared to alcohol.

Alcohol…the reason they were here in the first place. Man how he wished he could remember that night. He wished he would remember having actually been intimate with her. In a way, he was glad that he didn't remember…or would that have changed things? How would he have reacted if he remembered but she didn't…to live with that memory and not be able to act on it…no, at least this was better. They were both oblivious.

He wondered if he had enjoyed himself. He almost laughed out loud at that thought. Of course he had. How could he not. To finally have the object of his dreams in his bed…there was no way that whatever they did wasn't fiery and passionate. That kiss over two years ago had only served as a spark, a glimmer of how incredibly attracted he was to her physically. Whenever he closed his eyes at night, it was the first image to pop into his head. He knew that part of the reason he was always making snarky comments at her was due to the frustration of not being able to release the sexual tension any other way.

And now he had admitted his attraction to her and her to him. Where did that leave them? Did he love her? Well, she was carrying his child and they had been getting along a lot better lately. He looked at the top of her head and imagined what life would be like once this baby would arrive. Did he see them as a family? How did he think this was going to work? He knew that he wanted to be a dad to this new little life, that he wanted to be there and see all the firsts like he had with the Sheffield children.

He couldn't imagine that CC would be living here and he at the mansion and he would have to be so far away from his son or daughter every night. He was sure that he could convince CC to move into the mansion for a while in the beginning, using the pretext of everything being so new and her needing the help. He had tossed the idea out to Max and Fran already and they were fine with it…but how long would that last?

What if they did give in to the physical attraction and it just complicated everything? What if CC was only attracted to him, but not in love with him? Wait…he replayed that last thought in his head…if I am worried that CC might be only attracted to me but not in love with me, it means I actually care what the witch is feeling…and if I care what she's feeling…then I have feelings for her…Am I in love with her?

The thought that maybe, in fact, he was in love with her had barely started to register when he felt her shiver beside him.

"Are you cold?" he asked, concern evident in his voice.

She heard his voice, but she couldn't figure out how he could talk with her tongue down his throat.

"CC, did you hear me? I asked if you were cold?" his voice broke through her reverie as she became aware of her surroundings. She wasn't in the Sheffield living room, she was on her couch. They weren't making out, but they were…what…thinking about it?

"Uhggh" she sighed exasperated, and she pulled away from him a bit. Looking up at him, she saw that he seemed to be waiting for a response to what he had said, so she focused on the words she had heard and when they registered, she answered "Uh, no. I'm not cold."

"I felt you shiver a moment ago. Are you sure you're ok?" He gently took her hand and caught her eye as he searched for signs of possible illness.

"I wasn't shivering from the cold Niles. I guess I was just wrapped up in my thoughts…I sort of lost track of where I was…I didn't mean to worry you…OUCH!"

"What?!"

"Junior's at it again." and just as she said it, they both saw a visible *bump* on the side of CC's belly.

"Did you see that?" they said at the same time. "Man, that kid can kick" CC said, rubbing the sore spot.

When CC removed her hand, Niles moved closer and put his hand where hers had been and began gently rubbing in small circles. "There, there, little one." he cooed. "I know that it can't be too much fun to be stuck in there, but it's going to be a while longer ok? You need to give yourself some time, get big and strong. We're expecting you in January and it's pretty cold here in the winter. So don't rush to get out here, take your time ok? We're anxious to see you too…but we're not going anywhere."

And then he started humming softly. CC felt a tear come down her cheek as she witnessed one the first "baby/Daddy" moments. It wasn't awkward, sappy or even annoying…she almost laughed at the irony of it all.

"Looks like you'll be the voice of reason." She spoke softly.

"Hmmm?" he looked up at her.

"Baby stopped moving around. Never listens to me at all." she huffed.

"That's a surprise…you didn't use one your spells?" he smirked. "Or maybe the baby inherited your talents and has been countering your hexes from the womb!" he added with a big smile.

She swatted his arm. "Come on Niles, I would never use my powers on the baby!"

"Ha, see, you are a witch! I knew it!" he got up and danced around the room a bit. She just looked at him, and started to giggle. She couldn't help it, he looked so funny.

He saw her start to laugh out of the corner of his eye, and danced over to where she sat. Before she could react, he pulled her up in his embrace and kissed her hard on the lips. She welcomed the kiss, and returned it with passion. Just as quickly as it had started, he stopped it and looked at her directly.

"God knows you've cast a spell on me for much longer than I care to admit." His eyes bore into her very soul. "Oh CC, my beautiful witch, what are we going to do now?" he embraced her again, this time burying his face in her hair.

CC was stunned. He had kissed her! It had been just as exciting as she knew it would be. Then he told her she had bewitched him. What did that mean? He sounded just as confused as she felt. Slowly, she pulled out of the embrace.

"We need to talk about this." she said softly.

"I know." he took her hand and sat down next her on the couch. Intertwining his fingers with hers, he started "I want you. I can't deny that. The kiss we just shared confirms to me that being with you would be just as incredible as all the fantasies and dreams I've had for so long. If you'd let me, if I'd let myself, I would pick you up right now and take you to your bed where I would ravage you until the sun came up." he still hadn't looked at her, just at their hands.

"But…?"

"But what?"

"There's a huge objection hanging at the end of what you just said Niles. I get what you're asking when you said if I would let you, but what did you mean when you said If I'd let myself ?"

"What I mean is that even if you said yes, I don't know if I could take the risk. What if we can't handle it? What if it's one of those forbidden fruit kind of things, that we're only really attracted to each other because of the impossibility of it all? And if it becomes possible, the spark dies and we're left with nothing. Or worse, we actually start to truly despise each other and live up to the words that we've been throwing at each other since forever? We're having a baby, and I want to be a part of his or her life. How will that be if we can't stand each other? What if … what if you … took the baby away…from me?" He looked completely distraught. "I mean, I got us into this mess because I couldn't control my desire for you…I couldn't live with myself if I destroyed all that we've managed to salvage by losing control again."

"Oh Niles. And I'm the one that keeps things inside?" She took her hand out of his, and turned on the sofa, putting a leg under herself so she could face him.

"First, I've told you this before, we don't know what happened that night. I've admitted to you tonight that I am very much attracted to you. There is no doubt in my mind that whatever happened, no matter how much either of us had to drink, it is a very big possibility that I came on to you. So you have to stop blaming yourself. You didn't get us into this mess…WE did. Alright?"

She waited for him to agree before continuing.

"Next, as for holding the baby as some sort of ransom…please don't even go there. My childhood was horrible, and I would never wish that on anyone. Let's draw up a joint custody contract right now to put you at ease. I want you to be part of this baby's life. Whatever happens between us, I'm carrying your son or your daughter, and I will never take him or her away from you. You will never have to fight me for the right to spend time with your baby." Her tone was adamant. His tears were fresh, clear, and his heart overflowed with joy at the words he was hearing. "Thank you" he said simply.

"You don't need to thank me, Niles. It's thanks to you and not because of you that we are having a baby. Although the circumstances that created this life are very hazy, I, for one, am very, very happy this happened. I didn't know how much I truly wanted a baby, and although I am scared out of my mind at how things will turn out, I'm really happy that I'll get the chance to live the experience."

"You know, I'll remind you that you said that when you've been up six nights in a row and not had more than two hours of sleep." he winked.

"I'm not worried. I'll just call you over. You can sing the lullabies. Works like a charm!" she winked back, pointing at her belly.

However, she didn't want to fall into their normal habit of making jokes about everything, so she quickly resumed her serious tone.

"Ok, I think we've dealt with everything except the big white elephant in the middle of the room. We're still standing, and we're still speaking to each other. I think we can take it? What about you?" she asked hesitantly.

"What do you mean by take it?"

"I mean that we should be able to have an open discussion about whether we have sex or not." Straight and to the point, CC Babcock at her best.

"Ok, so most of the reasons against that option from my end you've just dealt with. We haven't talked about the option about it being so exciting to us because we can't have it." Niles answered.

"Alright, let's look at that. And let's try to be objective. Now imagine that we've just had sex."

"Was it good for you, baby?"

"Niles" she hit him on the arm, "be serious. Now, can you put yourself in the context please." she continued.

"Context?" he was a bit confused.

"Yes, context. Imagine you and I have just had sex. Yes, it was amazing, breathtaking, fantastic, wonderful, satisfying," her heart was beating faster and she could feel that familiar feeling take root at her core. "…where was I? Oh yeah, ok, so we've just had great sex and then?"

"then?" She heard that his voice was a bit higher pitched, his discomfort evident as he moved around on the couch.

"Yeah, then what do you imagine? Do you think that it's all out of your system? Can you picture getting your clothes back on, and just walking out of the room? You got what you wanted and that's it?"

His eyes grew dark at the mere mention of it.

"No! I imagine that I would want to do it again, and again, and again, and…" he turned towards her, watching her tongue dart out to moisten her lips as he spoke.

"...again." she continued his thought. "That's what I think too Niles." she said.