Disclaimer: I don't own any part or character from The Nanny…
A/N: The baby's here. What happens after? Final chapter in this story. Hope you all enjoyed it!
Even CC would admit that after all the chaos had settled, the whole thing had gone rather smoothly. There had been no traffic getting to the hospital, the paperwork had already been filled in weeks ago at one of her regular checkups, and though giving birth wasn't a walk in the park, holding her little girl in her arms now, she would be ready to do it all again in a heartbeat.
"Hello little one." she cooed to the baby, who was snuggled against her breast.
Niles walked back into the room and smiled as he looked at the scene before him. "Love, Fran and Max are waiting outside, are you ready to have any visitors?" he asked softly.
"Sure, I'm good now…" she replied.
He went back to the door and signaled to their friends that they could come in. Both Fran and Max walked up to CC with giddy little smiles on their faces. As Fran leaned in to get a better look, she exclaimed "My, she is so cute! Look max, she's got Niles' hair…and CC's nose."
Max agreed "She's rather adorable isn't she?"
"So, what'ya gonna name her?" Fran asked, looking up at first CC then across to Niles.
Niles looked at CC, who nodded and then back up at his friends "Laura Claire".
"Laura Claire Babcock" Fran repeated…"that's got a nice ring to it."
"Laura Claire Brightmore" CC corrected her.
"Brightmore?" both Fran and Max asked quizzically. Niles eyes had gotten very big, and he was more than surprised.
"Yes, Brightmore" CC beamed down at her daughter and then she looked directly at Niles. "Well, that is if Niles is ok with that. She is your daughter…" seeing that he had yet to react, she wondered if she had overstepped "I mean…I just assumed…did I…was it not a good idea…" she was rambling now, and Niles quickly took her free hand.
"No…you didn't do anything wrong. I'm just shocked… I mean…. how did you know about Brightmore? And we're not married…I had just thought…oh do you mean it CC?"
"Of course I mean it, Dust Buster."
Fran and Max thought it best to give them a moment and quietly stepped out of the room.
"CC, I love you. This is one of the happiest days of my life! I was waiting for the right time, for things to be perfect, but I can't imagine a better moment." Kneeling down beside the bed, he pulled out a tiny box from his pants pocket that he had been carrying around with him every day since his Mom had given it to him. "Chastity Claire Babcock, would you do me the honour of becoming my wife?"
CC could feel the tears rolling down her cheeks and blinked several times to wash them away. Looking into the eyes of the man she'd loved for more years than she could remember, she answered "Oh yes Niles…I would love to marry you."
He stood up beside the bed and quickly leaned in to kiss her. He then took the ring and placed it on her finger, and they both admired how it sparkled.
"It was my grandmother's ring. Maman gave it to me when we were in England. It looks so much better on you than it did in that box." he said, and then kissed her again. This time, she wrapped her right hand around to the back of his neck and pulled him in for a tighter embrace. When they broke apart, he let out a mighty "whoop" of happiness that brought their friends rushing back into the room.
"What's going on?" Fran asked.
"CC said yes Fran, she said yes!" He ran over to his best friend and spun her around. Then he looked at Max and said "British propriety be damned, I'm way too happy to hold back" and hugged Maxwell like a brother. To the surprise of everyone, Maxwell hugged him back. This truly was a special day.
"Niles, why are we here? I thought we were going back to the apartment?" CC asked as they walked through the front door of the mansion.
"Surprise!" everyone yelled softly…there was a baby present.
Looking out over the faces of the entire extended Sheffield clan, CC was a bit overwhelmed that they would all be here for them. Quickly rationalizing that, of course, they all loved Niles, which ended up making her feel a bit strange…happy for him and yet sad for herself at the same time, she plastered on as genuine a smile as she could and walked into the room.
She carried Laura in her baby seat and put her on the coffee table, where everyone immediately started to ooh and ahh over her. CC backed away a bit, letting Niles get their daughter out and hold her up so they could all get a better view. Watching them all together, she couldn't help but feel out of place, and quietly slipped out through the swinging door towards the office. She should have known better than to think that no one would notice her absence.
"Miss Babcock? Are you ok?" Grace asked, speaking to CC's back, watching her look out the terrace doors.
"Fine Grace, just a bit overwhelmed at the moment." She turned around and saw the shocked looked on the girl's face. "Of course I know your name. Sara was one of my closest friends…" when Grace didn't say anything, CC continued "It hurt to see you all grow up without her. In some strange way, it was like if I didn't say your names out loud, it made Sara's death a little less real…less painful. I realize now what a mistake that was…by shutting you all out…I shut her out too…and now…now I'm going to be responsible for a little one…and I know I'm going to screw it up…just…" and she started crying in earnest.
Grace had been watching, from where she stood, and quickly went over and put her arms around her.
"It's ok Miss Babcock…just let it out…" CC let herself be guided to the green couch and she let down her guard completely, letting herself be comforted by this little girl that she had never really bothered to get to know.
"You know Miss Babcock…the pregnancy, it changed you. Niles has changed you. We can all tell. We saw how much Daddy marrying Fran hurt you…we may be just kids, but we aren't stupid. And I don't think it hurt you because you wanted him to marry you…but more because you saw him happy again, and you weren't."
"How did you get so smart?" CC asked, wiping some of the tears away.
"I've always been the smart one." Grace replied matter of factly. "Seriously Miss Babcock. Remember that you're not only one who's going to raise that baby. Niles is an awesome Dad. If he hadn't been around when my mother died…well, we all know that things weren't great, but they were better than they would have been if Niles hadn't been there. He'll help you. And you'll see…the baby will help you too. And we'll help…we'll be around. And Fran…I know you haven't always seen eye to eye, but she's going to have the twins soon, and then you'll both be knee deep in baby stuff…you'll have things to talk about, and you'll connect…you'll see." Grace was so sincere that CC almost believed what she said.
"She's right you know" Niles added, as he walked into the office.
"Niles?"
"Thanks Miss Grace. I appreciate your efforts very much." Giving her a squeeze on the shoulder, he signaled that he wanted to be left alone with his future wife.
"CC, love, why are you so worried? You've been known to make grown men cry. There isn't one person in New York who hasn't turned tail from the "Bitch of Broadway". Maxwell would never be able to function without you, and I've never seen you run from anything."
"All that you've said is true Niles. I am a confident, out spoken go getting career woman. What do I know about babies, about raising a child? My childhood was so screwed up. You've told me through the years how cold and selfish I am. How am I going to be able to connect with this baby?" She blotted herself to his chest.
"Shhh. Now come on…" he tipped her chin up so she would look at him. "First, you're not doing this alone. I'm going to be there with you the whole time. Two, I fell in love with you. Now granted, I've been known to have a few masochistic tendencies, but seriously…do you think I would ask you to marry me, spend the rest of my life with you, just because we had sex one night and made a baby? Our daughter will get to see all those qualities that I see in you…and I'll be there to balance out all the ones that are…well…you know what I mean. The same way all my servant habits will need to be balanced by your socialite skills. This kid will be fine. Our daughter will be…she is perfect."
CC looked into his eyes and knew he was speaking from his heart. She felt his words reach through every part of her body and she let the hope and faith that he was emanating seep through her. Kissing him softly, she couldn't deny she still had doubts, but as he held her in his arms, she knew they would work through all that together.
"So, where is this perfect little girl of ours?" She asked lightly, shaking the funk from her and standing up.
"Last I saw, Fran was holding her on her belly introducing her to the twins." Niles took her arm and they headed back into the living room.
This time, she walked in with head held high, seeing that quite possibly some of the love that was being freely offered in that living was also for her and she finally accepted it. When Sylvia came to congratulate her, she hugged her back. She greeted Maggie and Brighton by their names, as she had done with Grace, and somehow, she felt more alive and real than she had in ages.
When she and Niles had finally gone back to apartment later that night, and she sat on the couch nursing Laura, watching Niles stoke the fire, she knew that she had come a long way from the socialite debutante her Mother had presented to the world so many years ago.
"I love you, Laura Claire" she whispered to her daughter, who let go of her breast for just a moment and seemed to smile back at her, and then she hungrily started sucking again.
A little louder, she said "I love you, Niles Andrew Brightmore." He looked up from the fire and smiled genuinely at her. Walking over to the couch, he sat down beside her and put his arm across her shoulders.
"My angels" he sighed. "I love you too, CC"