Ahh! It's the final chapter! Why? Cause I have school on Monday :P I'm sorry it has to end so soon, but I really don't know how I can drag the storyline any further than this.
I've been re-reading my past chapters, and it looks like this fanfic has been revolving around C.C. and her messed up life rather than just C.C. and Niles XD I apologize for that; I write according to my moods (which have been evidently dark xD)
Again, thanks to those who have read and/or reviewed. x3
I do not own anything of The Nanny.
The morning was in a complete hurry––Dr. Walter had informed them that C.C. would regain her memory in no time soon, so they had to rush all of C.C.'s stuff back into her apartment. They still weren't sure whether C.C. would just seem to awaken out of a coffin or if she would remember everything like she was actually there––except, you know, out of her mind.
Because of that, Niles had to leave her early to help out disguising all the traces of C.C.'s insanity. He was silent throughout, however. He didn't know whether to take C.C.'s return as good or bad news. It was the vicious and cold C.C. that Niles fell in love in the first place, but it was also her smaller mind that made him realize it. Which one was better? Did it even matter? She was still the same person. Insane and lovable.
C.C. awoke in the hospital room to find Niles coming in. "The doctor said it's time to leave," he informed.
She yawned and held at her head as he waited attentively to figure out whether she was "back" or not. "Ugh, what happened last night?"
"Depends, what do you remember?" Niles selected his questions carefully.
"Well, I remember tryin'a leave Maxwell's house when, I dunno, I fell or something and someone said something about towing services and––" she stopped in her recollections and glared at Niles. He chuckled as he realized that she didn't remember a thing after that night. It sort of made him sad, that all those good times they had while she was loony were gone.
They had checked her out of the hospital and now were in the limo, barely parking out.
"So," Niles started as he drove. "Do you feel like going back to the barn or would you like to freeload off of us like you usually do?"
C.C. smirked. "You could show a littler more sympathy, Niles. After all, I was just released from a hospital."
"Don't push me, woman," Niles murmured inaudibly to himself. She really didn't remember the past week, did she…
"Grab me some wine when we get to Maxwell's, would you? It feels like all I've been drinking is milk or something," she said as she winced at the taste in her mouth.
"Alcohol's not good for you––" Niles said, still in the habit of being her father. He realized what he had said as she stared at him curiously. "You know, cause, as you said, you were just released." Nice save.
"Alright then, fine," C.C. said submissively, a small grin still stuck on her face.
"What's with that smirk, Babcock?"
"Oh, nothing, Hazel."
Soon after they arrived at the Sheffield mansion, where C.C. was bombarded (more so than expected) with greetings. It sort of made her want to go home instead… but then again, she was never so welcomed before.
Fran tackle-hugged C.C. tightly as she flinched. "Oh my gosh, Ms. Babcock, welcome back! Is there anything I can do for you? Like do your nails, or fix your hair? Do you feel the need to go to McDonalds?"
C.C. stood stiffly as Fran practically was breaking every bone in her body. "All I'd like right now is for you to let go," she breathed out with a stiff tone. Fran let go immediately and apologized and went back beside Maxwell.
"My baby's gone," she cried in a quiet high-pitched tone as she buried her face mockingly in Maxwell's shoulder.
"What's with her?" C.C. murmured to Niles as she flinched a step back as soon as Fran released her. Niles shrugged, not wanting to explain everything.
"Come on, C.C., join us for breakfast," Maxwell offered as they went to the kitchen to serve the food that Niles quickly ordered before he left to the hospital. It wasn't like C.C. didn't eat there every day, every morning, but he supposed that actually inviting her made it at least more welcoming.
"So are you feeling better?" Maxwell asked her as they began to eat.
"Much, thank you."
There was something odd in C.C.'s behavior that almost everyone (other than the ever so clueless Max) thought suspicious. She acted completely normal throughout the entire conversation. Normally, she'd be all over him, talking to him sweetly, giggling at him. But she wasn't. She acted normal, as if Maxwell were just another person in her life; not once did she look at him with "those eyes." Her behavior towards Fran and the children were quite strange, too. Not a word insulting Fran came out of her mouth. What's more, she remembered the children's names. All of that was simply altered––all but her actions towards Niles. They were the same as it ever could be.
Niles wouldn't have it any other way, but it made him, as well as everyone else, wonder.
C.C. stayed at the dining room and helped Niles stack the dishes for cleaning. It was very unlike her to help "the help"; hell, no one helped the help.
"So this is what it's like in your shoes, hm Butler Boy?" She commented as she piled the silverware on top of the dishes and took them to the kitchen with Niles.
"How could you possibly fit?" Niles sneered as he took her pile and set it beside the sink after setting down his.
C.C. smirked at his remake like she always did. She watched him wash the dishes as the silence was filled with clattering and the rush of water. She wasn't sure why she was sticking around, but she just felt comfortable here for some reason. Later she found the newspaper completely untouched and unfolded it as she began to read.
"What's this?" C.C. asked curiously to herself as she checked the date. "It's not like a household with Yenta disease to not read the paper for a whole four, five days…"
Niles furrowed his brow as he dried his hands, remembering that everyone was far too busy during the week to even read. He peered at the paper and his eyes widened at a small article about C.C.'s accident. Apparently, no one really cared since they hadn't run into the press not once. Still, this was nothing C.C. had to see––he snatched it away and walked away briskly.
"Hey! Why'd you do that for?"
"Um," Niles' eyes shifted from left to right. "Chester went on this one." He scurried off out of the room, leaving C.C. confused and still.
It wasn't really a big deal if C.C. knew, but like hell she'd believe his side of the story compared to what the public saw––and what the public saw was Babcock's 'new mystery man'. What would she think? That he took advantage of her while she was mentally vulnerable? Niles wasn't really sure what she'd do, but decided if she were to find out she might as well do so herself.
He disposed of the paper and huffed back to his work.
--
In seemed that noticing oddity around the house was reciprocal. C.C. found it likeably odd––if that was possible––how Maxwell actually noticed and started to appreciate her in work more often. (Too bad she didn't really feel it for him anymore.) The children actually stopped to give a "Hi, C.C." or "Hello, Ms. Babcock". Fran was more polite, but much more weirder. She'd always insist on doings things for C.C. as if she were her nanny or something.
Right now she was alone in the living room, getting ready to get back home. It was a light rain out, so she went ravaging the foyer closer for her umbrella.
"Where is that damned thing," she cursed under her breath as she tossed stuff about.
There was a sudden low-pitched thump that arose from upstairs. It was nearly inaudible, but it caught C.C.'s attention, and something within her told her to check it out. Cautiously making it up the stairway (watching her step this time), she made sure not to disturb or intrude anyone, whether they were in their rooms sleeping or not.
She wandered around until she came across a plain door. Despite being a boring white door, it stood out, for all the other doors had something on it to mark ownership. Some sort of nostalgia rushed against her as she opened the door. The room was plain and barren––drawers empty, the bed covered with the most generic sheets anyone has ever laid eyes on… the guest room.
C.C. chucked to herself, wondering why she wandered up here. But all at the same time, she knew why…yet didn't… perhaps it was Chastity that knew.
Maybe it was real, or just her sanity playing her again, but she swore there was a light background music playing as she thought. Wait no, it was just Niles playing "She's Always a Woman to Me" next door––that certainly raised an eyebrow. She definitely found something to hover over his head tomorrow.
The music stopped as he came out of his room. Sensing someone inside, he walked towards the door as C.C. quickly hid behind the door. He opened it into a small spaced crack, and after finding no one, he retreated back downstairs.
C.C. released her held breath as she loosened herself. She reached for the door until she noticed something. Beneath the plain blanket on the bed, stood a soft lump. C.C. quietly walked over to the side and uncovered the bed halfway to reveal a small plastic toy. She picked it up and examined it with her eyes sparkling in nostalgia that she didn't realize, all until she lifted it to its bottom to reveal an engraved brand: McDonalds.
--
Niles sighed tiresomely as he walked into the living room and found C.C. sitting on the couch, half asleep with the lights dimmed.
"Ms. Bacock? What are you still doing here?" He asked loud enough to wake her, soft enough not to startle her out of her heels.
C.C. rubbed her eyes and yawned as she spoke. "It was raining out and I couldn't find an umbrella…"
"Well of course," Niles said as he walked over to the closet. "The umbrellas are kept at the top shelf."
"Oh. Well you could've told me that." C.C. walked to Niles as he pulled out an embrella.
"It is quite rough outside," he said as he peered out the see-through door. "Perhaps I should drive you home myself. You might melt."
"Alright then, Rochester," she chimed as she smiled at him. He helped her with her coat and pulled off the Velcro that held the umbrella together. Niles stopped her at the door, remembering something.
"Oh, I forgot this." He dug out of his pocket and pulled out her bottle of Prozac. "You left them again."
He slightly turned away in embarrassment. He had kept them just in case she came back to normal during her delusional week.
He patted them into her hand as she started at it for a while, a small grin forming.
"You know what, I don't think I really need these anymore." She looked down as she gave them back. He held it and stared at it blankly.
"And why?" He looked up at her to find her holding up a tiny plastic toy with both her hands holding it up.
"Cause I got this."
She wiggled it in front of his face with a wide grin as he formed a smile, his eyebrows raised in surprise.
She put down her hands with it still in her hands. He stood there speechless as she tried to contain her smile from an ear-to-ear sneer to just a light smirk.
"You know cause," she swayed. "An elephant never forgets."
Niles nearly choked on his own breaths. She remembered. She remembered everything––the fall, the hospital, the park, McDonalds, the play place, her period, chess, her payless job, her soliloquies, her daddy, her fake daddy, her mummy, falling again, the hospital again, the closure, the thumb war… everything.
They stood there with a beating heart, with nothing audible but the showers of the rain outside. Niles was still and uneasy with the pressure building at his heart––all of which C.C. broke as she gently pulled him closer and kissed him ever so softly in a way that just mollified all the tension into melted wax, cooling at the surface. The feel of his arms around her sent warmth and safety that manifested her nerves and nearly made them numb.
This was a feeling that she had always dreamed of, a feeling that she found herself missing all up 'til now––all up 'til Niles.
Their lips parted as she kept her hands holding his face, staring endearingly into his aquatic blue eyes. "Thank you."
Niles smiled warmly as he kissed her forehead, sending a reminiscent spark and they both head out the door, the rain now only trickling in the aftermath.
Epilogue
Dear Mummy,
Life is starting to be nice to me; I'm actually happy and sane at the same time. Shocking, isn't it? But I've found a reason not to hate life any longer, and that reason would be the Sheffield home––the only place that actually does feel like home, however crowded and chaotic. But of course, I must also thank you for contributing to my welfare. Thank you for being my mother and actually being there, however late you may have come. Say, when you see daddy again, do tell him that I said thank you and not criticize him in whatever he does with his life. Remember mummy, he may not be your husband anymore, but he will always be my father.
Not to rub anything in your face, mummy, but I do have great confidence in my marriage. Niles is so great to me, god knows if I even repay him the same. I know you don't really like Niles because of our class difference, and not to mention he was the one that made me lose my sanity that one time, and was slightly the reason why I hit my head in the first place. But who was the one who took care of me the whole entire time? Him. And frankly, if he didn't pull any of that crap, whether on purpose or accident, I don't think I'd love him as much, It's just who he ism and that's just how we are. You know the other day he commented on the way I laughed/ He said it was so sultry, and liked it very much cause the adjective for it rhymed with "poultry." My lord, he is just the best.
Hopefully you're okay with him by now, cause if not, you're going to want to kill us for this. We're sorta expecting a child. Yeah, it's sorta late, but I sorta don't care. The point is that we're going to raise a beautiful kid who will have definitely have the same cleverness and smarts as its parents, yessiree!
Speaking of children, Maxwell and Nanny Fine are also expecting. Twins, too. You know I see now that I was a real dumbass to chase after Maxwell for this long. He is quite brilliant and caring, but hell he was clueless. I don't hate him for it, but I can't stand it. In the end, he is nothing compared to Niles, despite the money and riches. I'm not sure how Nanny Fine deals with it.
Oh, that Nanny Fine. I was wrong to despise her just as I was wrong to chaste after Maxwell. Sure, she can be a total slut at times, but at least she's a slut with a heart. She has a huge conscience and it surprises me all the time. I still find it hard to believe that no matter how many times I had tried to rid of her in the past, she always had my back. Friends like that are hard to find, mummy, especially when you have no idea that they are.
I hope you find people like Fran or Niles some time, mum. Age doesn't really make a damned difference. Happiness doesn't have an expiration date––I learned that, all thanks to my mishap with Prozac. That shit really works, hahaha…
Love you,
C.C. Babcock
Or should I say
C.C. "DeButler."
End.
I'd like to thank the people who have been reading and reviewing from the start:
Fanofgrissom – Butler Girl – MiszDaniiBoO – Popping Fresh – Bogiedevil – ChocoLover1331 – Lonelygoatherd – and last but not least, Mark (Brandy).
Love you all ~
-Rei
