Disclaimer: I still don't own any part of The Nanny…but I'm still hopeful!
A/N: Getting down to the issues now.
The Reunion, The Visit, and The Grand Charade
Chapter 14
After a quick breakfast with Becky and James, and a promise to keep in touch, Niles and CC grabbed a cab out to the country to spend the day with his parents. "Niles…what do you usually do when you visit your parents?"
Niles sighed and slipped his arm along the back of the seat. "I help around the house, do what needs doing. Patrick sees to any emergencies, but he's got his own home and family to take care of."
"Any you don't?" CC asks him softly.
Niles shrugged. "Technically…no, I don't."
CC didn't want to spoil their day so she changed the somber subject. "What do you do there for fun?"
"I go riding…sometimes I visit the tree house." Niles smiled at the thought.
CC leaned into his side and his arm dropped to her shoulder. "It's still there after all these years?"
"Oh, yes. Patrick and I have taken great care over the years to keep it safe." Niles grinned and it didn't go unnoticed.
CC sat up a bit and looked at him. "What's that grin about?"
"What grin?" Niles couldn't pull it back.
"That grin that says there is more than meets the eye about that tree house." CC looked down her nose at him. "Come on, Niles…spill it."
Niles sighed. "Well, as long as you promise you won't ever tell." CC 'crossed her heart'. "Alright. Max and Sara's first time was in that tree house. Patrick and Fiona's first time was in that tree house. It's a very special place."
"What about you?" CC asked without thinking and she felt Niles stiffen just a bit.
"I've never had that pleasure…" Niles started.
"Niles," CC interrupted. "I know you don't expect me to believe that you've never…"
Niles stopped her. "Of course not, I just meant in the tree house. Like I said it's a very special place."
"Oh." CC decided to let it drop.
When the cab pulled up out front Joseph and Marie were in the front courtyard tending to the garden. "Hello, Lad, Chastity. How was the drive out?" Joseph called to them with a twinkle in his eye.
"It was lovely, Dad." Chastity answered giving the man a warm embrace.
Joseph winked at Niles and turned to face his wife. "You see that, Woman, she hugged me first."
Marie rolled her eyes at him. "Every dog needs to have his belly rubbed on occasion, dear."
CC and Niles laughed. "She got you there, Dad." Niles clapped his father on the back and moved to hug his mother. "Maman, is there anything special you'd like me to do?"
Marie winked at CC. "Not a thing I can think of, dear. Why don't you take your fiancé for a stroll around the grounds, maybe take her to the pond.
"Maman, you are incorrigible." Niles raised his eyebrow. "Come on, Love." Niles took CC's hand and led her around the back of the house.
"What pond is your mother talking about, Niles?" CC asked him.
Niles shook her head. "It was where I taught Max how to swim."
"You taught Max to swim? I would've thought his parents would send him off to some fancy private teacher." CC laughed.
Niles laughed as well. "That's exactly what they did. He learned all the most proper strokes and breathing techniques. What he didn't learn was how to be a boy. He swam like an old man. He couldn't really hold his breath; he couldn't jump off the rope swing; he couldn't do any of the…fun stuff."
"You're a very good friend, Niles." CC followed him down to the pond and they sat on the bank and watched the fish and frogs. "Thank you, Niles…for letting me see this side of you."
"Max is the only person who has ever seen this side of me before. Well, except for Sara." Niles sighed when he remembered his friend.
"You miss her, don't you?" CC rested her head on his shoulder. "Me too, she was my best friend."
"She was the first girl to treat me as anything other than a servant. To Sara, I was just Niles…I was a regular person…just another boy." Niles looked away.
"You really loved her, didn't you?" CC wasn't sure why she'd asked.
Niles nodded. "Not like Max did. Sara was the closest thing I had to a sister. It made being friends with Max more difficult at times."
"Like at the tree house." CC dropped softly.
Niles nodded. "Like at the tree house. When I found out…I wanted to kill him, but Sara begged me not too. She said it had been all her idea. It was where they'd met, where she told him she loved him."
"It's a very special place." CC kissed his cheek. They sat a short while longer in silence.
They made their way back to the house just before lunch. "Niles, dear," Marie started. "Why don't you take Chastity up to your room and let her freshen up."
"But, Maman? What about the rule…no girls in our rooms? You're getting soft in your old age." Niles joked earning him a quick smack on the behind from his mother as he showed CC to the stairs.
CC's eyes twinkled as she watched this Niles. He was still the same handsome, charming, witty Niles that she saw everyday in NY. But there was something different. He was fun, playful, mischievous, almost…child like. CC decided…she liked this Niles too. "Let's go, Benson, I want to see your teddy bear."
"Well, here we are, Chastity." Niles opened the door to the room of his childhood. CC walked in a few steps and just took it in. It was the room of a boy, but not like Brighton's room…it was…rugged and…manly. There was a wall full of ribbons and trophy's of assorted types, rugby, and cricket mostly. The ribbons were for equestrian competitions, some said Valentine some…Buster.
On the double bed there was in fact a pale brown teddy bear. "And who might this be?" CC sat on the bed and snuggled him to her chest.
"That's Reginald." Niles sat next to her.
CC smirked. "Such a stodgy name for such a soft little fellow, did you name him?"
"No…that's the name he came with." Niles flashed his boyish grin.
CC dropped her head and looked at him. "I have to know this story."
"Well, that's what I've always been told. Maman tells it much better." Niles tried to get out of it. CC just shook her head inducing a sigh from Niles. "As I understand it, and I claim no memory whatever, Reginald arrived under the tree Christmas morning. I was just three years old. When asked what his name was, I said, 'he introduced himself as Reginald the first of Bearington'." Niles waited for CC to burst into laughter. She didn't. "I've called him Reg ever since."
CC turned and still hugging 'Reg' and whispered, "That's a beautiful story Niles." Then without thinking she leaned in and kissed him lightly, lingering just long enough for Gin to burst through the door.
"Uncle Niles! Aunt Chastity! You'll never guess what Daddy got me!" Gin leapt onto the bed behind them and started bouncing.
"Ok, Gin, sit down and tell us what Daddy got you." Niles winked at CC. He knew very well Gin's gift was a horse. Niles had done all the 'shopping' himself.
"A pony…he's big! Just like Champ, only he's what Daddy called a pinto, he's brown and white." Gin jumped off the bed. "Come on," Gin grabbed CC's hand and pulled. "Ya gotta come see him."
CC smiled at the girl and lovingly replaced Reg on the bed. "Alright, Gin. I'm coming, I'm coming." CC and Niles followed Gin down and out to the stables to have a look and this new 'pony'.
"He's a beauty, Gin." Niles rubbed the horse's nose. "Have you decided what you're going to call him?"
"Well, I think he looks like what happened to the barn when Daddy tried painting…so I thought I could call him Paint." Gin tilted her head a bit. "Yeah…Paint."
CC smiled. "That's a great name, Gin."
Marie called from the back patio. "Lunch is ready!"
"Yeah! Gramma made cottage pie!" Gin jumped down from the tack box she stood on. "Thanks Uncle Niles." Then she took off out of the stable and headed toward the house.
CC and Niles walked slowly each had an arm around the other's waist. "Why did Gin thank you back there?" Niles shrugged.
They shared a wonderful lunch. "I didn't know all you Brightmore men where such equestrians." CC tossed out as she helped Marie and Fiona clear the table. Patrick and Joseph burst into laughter. "What did I say?"
"Chastity, Niles is the only equestrian in this house. He's forgotten more about horses than Paddy and I will ever know." Joseph volunteered.
CC looked at Niles. "But what about Gin's horse, Paint? He's beautiful. Well balanced, healthy, bright eyes. He can't be more than four years old…he's an excellent choice for Gin."
"Niles did all the research and made the choice, Chastity. All that Fiona and I did was pay the bill and pick him up." Paddy made his way into the kitchen to help his wife with the dishes.
"Niles…" CC started. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Niles shrugged. "I didn't want to take anything away from Patrick and Fiona…the horse was their gift to Gin…not mine."
CC leaned down and kissed his cheek. "She knows, Niles. Remember she thanked you just before she left the stable." CC took the last of the dishes into the kitchen.
"She's a keeper, Son." Joseph volunteered to Niles as they headed into the living room.
"Yes, Dad, I know." Niles responded easily.
Joseph sat in his favorite chair and eyeballed his eldest son. "Then why don't you do something about it?"
Niles frowned at his father. "Dad, I already proposed…here in fact, two days ago. Are you losing your memory?"
"Niles, you're my son. If you think for one minute I believed that proposal you're crazy." Joseph spoke plainly.
"Dad…" Niles started.
Joseph put up his hand to stop him. "You did what you thought you had to and your reasons are your own. But please, boy, don't try to lie to your father. That first bit, 'will you marry me', complete rubbish. You wrote better poetry when you were ten. Now the second part where you said you loved her and promised to spend the rest of your days trying to make her happy, that's the Niles I know."
"It doesn't matter, Dad…she knew all about it. Patrick told her about the rings and that I would be proposing. She'd have refused me outright otherwise," Niles said sadly.
"That's a load of crap and you know it." Joseph stood. "I may be old, Niles, but I've seen the way you two look at each other. I don't know what's worse. Your fear of telling her or her fear that you will."
