A/N: Again, I am so glad that you seem to like the story so far. :) Here's the next chapter and there will be one more afterwards and that's it...unless I will still change my mind and add a small epilogue. lol R&R please! :)
Day 4:
The faint rumble of thunder awoke C.C. in the early hours of the morning. Not fully awake yet she struggled for a moment to remember her location. Her head felt fuzzy and her body still warm and heavy from sleep and she savoured the last seconds of this wonderful slumbering state. Not long after, the clouds broke open and rain started to pour down on the little hut, far more audible than it could ever have been at her penthouse or the Sheffield mansion. She closed her eyes and listened but eventually gave in to her craving for a nice hot cup of tea. Anywhere else she might've been hard-pressed to find some, coffee being the far more likely option but she was counting on Niles' British desire for tea in the morning.
Slowly she pushed the heavy blankets off her and instantly shivered, scarcely dressed as she was in only her nightgown. And yet the cold wasn't altogether unpleasant. As a matter of fact it added to the moodiness the weather had created, one that C.C. secretly quite enjoyed, especially if she wasn't forced to leave the house. Nonetheless she felt strangely exposed only dressed like that and very much aware that she was alone in the house with Niles.
C.C., although self-conscious, was never really afraid of being alone with a man but Niles was different. The effect he had on her was two-fold. On one hand she was somewhat afraid of baring too much of herself, lest it only give him more ammunition for insults. And on the other hand all the insults aside there was a kind of passion lurking under the surface that C.C. was eager and yet unwilling to explore. So when she spotted a thin blanket draped over the back of a chair next to Niles' bed she didn't hesitate to pick it up and wrap it around her shoulders.
Then she cast a glance over to the kettle and the mug next to it filled with various sachets, none of which looked like teabags. Frowning she stepped closer and began flicking through them but unfortunately her first observation had been right. There were no teabags lying around. Disappointed and to a certain extent disbelieving she approached his bed again and poked him twice roughly in the side.
"What?" he grumbled and wiggled away and out of her reach.
"I want a tea." She stated firmly.
"Well, make yourself one." He muttered and tugged the blanket up over his shoulders.
"I would, except there are no teabags."
There was a silence for a moment that had C.C. pondering if he had fallen asleep again but just when she moved her hand to poke him once more he spoke. "Must've left them at the Sheffields. Go and fetch like a good girl!"
C.C. muttered a curse and stood up straighter again. For a split-second she actually contemplated getting dressed and heading over to their cabin to get the tea she was still desperately craving but then she noticed the slight smirk on his face.
"You're lying," she growled, narrowing her eyes.
"Awww…damn," he grinned, rolling on his back to look at her "just when you were so close to jogging through the rain."
His eyes flickered once up and down her body and then focused on her face again.
"Too bad you couldn't hide your smugness," she commented with a grin and drew the blanket closer around herself "so where is the tea?"
Lazily Niles pointed to his nightstand and stretched his tired limbs.
"Really?" she asked, arching an eyebrow while retrieving the little box "What is this? Your secret stash?"
"Mr Sheffield enjoys a selection of teas," he responded formally "and as you may have noticed there is no cabinet space under the counter."
C.C. hummed without commenting and walked back to the other side of the room where she put the kettle on and prepared herself a mug.
"Yes, Miss Babcock, I would love some Earl Grey tea, please." Niles called mockingly from his place in the bed and C.C. chuckled but rolled her eyes.
"If anything you should be making me some tea," she pointed out, reaching for a second mug nonetheless "after all, you're the butler here."
"And don't you let me forget it," Niles commented dryly.
C.C. hummed and busied herself pouring the hot water on top of their teabags and then grasped a sugar sachet. "You want some?"
"Yes, one will be enough." He nodded "I'd ask for milk but for that you would actually have to walk to the Sheffields and I don't suppose you'd-"
"No chance," she interrupted him and gave the dark liquid a quick stir "this is as good as it's gonna get."
"Do you say that to all your men?" he challenged with a boyish grin.
"No, I'd never dream of stealing your line." She tossed out in return and was satisfied to hear him chuckle.
With the tea prepared she handed him his mug and then picked up her own, turning to head back to her room.
"Come on, Babcock, don't be such a loner. We're both awake. Why don't you practise your social skills? We both know that they can use improving." He stopped her in her tracks, certain that she would take the bait.
"Some people are just worth ignoring," she commented but steered her steps towards his bed nonetheless.
Setting the mug down on his nightstand she lifted his blanket and slipped under it, making sure that their bare skin wouldn't come in contact. Then she picked her tea back up again and took a small sip.
"So which flavour from Mr Sheffield's great selection did you choose?"
C.C. hummed and blew on her tea to cool it. "Strawberry and mango."
"What exotic tastes you have, Miss Babcock." He commented, shooting her an amused side glance.
"Are you disappointed now because I favour more exciting flavours over a mundane old Earl Grey tea?" she challenged, arching an eyebrow at him.
"True," he hummed "Earl Grey might be boring but there's a reason why he's been the people's favourite for years. Besides, you simply can't beat the bitter taste mixed with just the right amount of sweetness as it dissolves on your tongue."
Throughout this speech Niles had leaned in closer, setting the mug down on the nightstand to her left, his words brushing over her skin in passing. C.C. was smart enough to realise that he was flirting with her but she didn't know just how to respond. There'd been lingering glances between them in the past, innuendos and hints but she wasn't used to him being quite as direct as he had been in the past two days. The result was as thrilling and unnerving as only Niles could make it. Unsure if mirroring his direct approach would lead her straight into a trap of one of his pranks yet unwilling to let the electrifying atmosphere fade away that had developed around them since they had started this particular conversation, C.C. bought herself more time by blowing on her tea yet again and taking a sip.
"Some women aren't looking for bitter or sweet, you know?" she pointed out eventually.
"And you certainly can't be compared to any given woman on the street." He agreed and she tilted her head in his direction, unsure if his comment was meant more teasingly than appreciatively. But his expression was her uncertainty he shifted closer and said in a quiet but intense voice: "I'm sure I could satisfy any of the tastes you might be in the mood for, Miss Babcock."
At this statement a shiver ran through her entire body and she had to break eye contact for a moment and let her lids fall shut. When she opened them again he was still gazing at her with the same intensity.
"Have I made you shy now?" he asked, the teasing lightness of his tone more a caress than anything else.
C.C. opened her mouth to respond; she wanted to give a particularly witty and clever answer that would show him that his actions had no power over her, but her mind drew solely blanks. Niles, on the other hand, seemed to relish in her sudden silence. He had witnessed her awkward giggles when men had complimented her before, behaviour that proved that she wasn't nearly as confident as she could pretend to be. But he had never been the one to cause this. Anger, frustration, fury and sometimes even begrudging approval or pride, sure, but not this. But it was yet another facet that made her more appealing to him.
Niles knew he had to act fast. It wouldn't take her long to find the ground under her feet again and when that happened he knew that she'd push him away harder than ever before, just because he had managed to put her in this position in the first place. So making use of his newly found more powerful role, he gently removed the teacup from her hands and placed it on the nightstand next to his. Then he shifted another inch closer and brushed a strand of hair behind her ear. Over the sound of the rain that kept pounding down on the roof he could barely hear her sharp intake of breath but he knew nonetheless that it was there. Finally, still holding the side of her face cupped in the palm of his hand he leaned in until their noses were touching. C.C.'s eyes fluttered closed and Niles' would've almost followed suit, had he not forced himself to keep watching her. Gently, he tilted her chin up and allowed his lips to brush over hers. The touch was so light and teasing that a low groan tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop himself. Craving to taste her again he leaned in once more but before their lips had a chance to meet a loud knocking tore them apart.
Like a startled cat C.C. jumped out of his arms, her eyes wide and her chest rising and falling rapidly. Annoyed, Niles cursed whoever had chosen this moment to interrupt them, slipped out of bed and opened the door. Maxwell, of course.
"Good morning, old man." The other Brit stammered, clearly made nervous by his butler's cranky expression "I hope I didn't wake you. Sara sent me to catch you before you drove down to the store. Since the weather is looking so terrible, she was wondering if you would mind not only preparing breakfast for us but also leaving something at the cabin for us for lunch time and snacks as it is probable we'll be stuck in there the whole day."
"So she expects me to drive to the store in this weather, does she?" Niles asked, getting more annoyed by the second.
"If you wouldn't mind," Maxwell said nervously and then added with a shaky chuckle "Oh hello C.C., I didn't see you there."
Niles looked over his shoulder to see that she had come to sit on one of the chairs at the table, clutching her mug. Her cheeks were flushed and she looked determined not to meet his eyes. He knew that it would be best if he stuck around so they could talk about what had almost happened but couldn't come up with a decent enough reason to refuse his employer.
As if noticing that his butler was looking for a way out, Maxwell offered: "I'll accompany you, old man. What do you say?"
Well, what was he to say?
"Certainly, Sir. I'll just be a minute."
And with a deep sigh he collected his clothes and toiletries and trotted to the bathroom to get washed and changed.
While he was gone C.C. and Maxwell were enveloped in an awkward silence. C.C. was struggling to understand what had almost transpired between her and Niles and Maxwell couldn't shake the feeling of having interrupted a rather private moment if his butler's annoyance was any indication.
"Terrible weather," he nervously stated the obvious and stuffed his hands in his trouser pockets.
"Yes," C.C. agreed absent-mindedly and then realised that it was her turn to make conversation now "could I maybe see you after breakfast? Privately?"
To her surprise Maxwell grew pale all of a sudden. As keen as he was to find out if anything had happened between his secretary and his butler, he was afraid that he would be asked for relationship advice. An area his wife was a much better person to seek out.
"Yes, of course," he agreed however, knowing that it would be rude to deny her "we can go to my office…I uh…I mean a guestroom."
The atmosphere in the tiny hut turned even more uncomfortable.
"Well, I hear Niles is almost done," Maxwell spoke again when the sounds of the shower had subsided "I better go and get my coat and wait for him at the car."
"Sure," C.C. nodded and withdrew into the safety of her separate room once the door had gone shut behind him, hoping that this would spare her a conversation with Niles.
They all assembled again at the Sheffields' cabin for breakfast. As promised, Niles had cooked up a storm, with half the items still in the oven or cooling off on the counter, to be consumed later on that day. The hearty English breakfast consisting of sausages, bacon, tomatoes, fried mushrooms and egg was the perfect nourishment on a miserable day like this and C.C. would've been able to savour it more if it hadn't been for the incident in their hut.
Now it felt almost impossible to focus on her food, as she was far too busy glancing up at him when he wasn't looking or avoiding eye contact when he was observing her. Their behaviour was so uncharacteristic that not even Sara became quickly aware that something had happened, but Brighton also nosily asked if they were both feeling alright. They both mumbled excuses and tossed half-hearted insults at each other which raised even more eyebrows and then made sure to steer the conversation to a different subject.
When the children had polished off their plates, Niles busied himself clearing the table and storing away leftovers. In the meantime C.C. leaned in to Maxwell and whispered: "Would now be a good time?"
His eyes flickered nervously to his wife who only gave him a confused look in return and then nodded. "Certainly, let's see where we can find some privacy, shall we?"
They both rose to their feet and C.C. followed Maxwell through the cabin until they found an unused bedroom right underneath the roof.
"I saw what you did in the office," C.C. began instantly without beating around the bush.
Perplexed, because he had been expecting to hear something completely different, Maxwell frowned. "I beg your pardon?"
"In New York, I mean," C.C. clarified, smiling thinly "I saw you taking work documents along."
"Yes but I've barely even managed to look at them. I've been busy with the family."He announced this, C.C. felt, like a disclaimer in case his wife was around and then added more quietly "Of course a little bit here and a little bit there but-"
"I've brought my laptop and a few scripts along," C.C. interrupted him before he could continue justifying himself further "and I think I've made some progress. How about you hand me your documents and later and then you go and pay Niles a visit at our hut. You know the password, don't you?"
Maxwell nodded and then glanced around nervously. "You haven't told Sara though, have you?"
"Then I might as well not have taken the laptop along," C.C. pointed out, rolling her eyes.
"True," he agreed and took a deep breath "still, we should probably head back downstairs before she gets suspicious."
Niles who hadn't witnessed any of this was surprised to find that C.C. decided to spend the day with the Sheffields playing board games, rather than hurrying back to the hut as soon as possible. The only thing he could surmise from it was that she really did not want to be alone with him. As disappointing as this was and as eager as he was to discuss matters with her, he also knew that there was no sense pushing her – especially not in front of the Sheffields – and so he left the cabin once all his chores were done.
Alone once more he wanted to make the most of his solitude by coming up with the right words for a later conversation with C.C. but eventually discovered that the silence with all these heavy questions in the air was driving him insane. So he was relieved when there was suddenly a knock on the door.
"Yes?" he called, sitting up straighter on his bed.
"Sorry to bother you, old man," Maxwell said, stepping into the hut and Niles' relief quickly evaporated.
"How can I help you?" he asked through gritted teeth, hoping that his tone would be enough of a hint to stop his employer from asking any more favours.
"C.C. told me she's brought her laptop and I'd just quickly like to use it."
"It's in her bedroom I think," Niles explained and pointed to the room behind him.
Maxwell nodded and stepped inside and re-appeared a moment later holding the laptop.
"Does Sara know why you're here?" Niles asked, now unable to stop himself from grinning.
"I'm not doing anything wrong," the other Brit mumbled and hurriedly typed in the password.
"Then why are you sneaking around?" Niles' grin only broadened.
"I'm not…and if anything it's you and C.C. who are acting strange."
That comment silenced Niles rather rapidly and Maxwell was granted several minutes to scan the work C.C. had been doing and to apply corrections where necessary. Then he closed the laptop again and looked at his butler once more.
"I am sorry if I interrupted a private moment earlier, old man." He said carefully, giving his friend an honest smile "I didn't know that you two were..."
"We're not," Niles shrugged; a gesture which he intended to look nonchalant but which made him look like a brooding teenager instead "If anything I think I've spooked her."
"I hardly think that's possible." Maxwell replied.
He had only met his wife's best friend a couple of years ago but in that time he had never known her to be shy or nervous around men. If anything she was the one who left the men feeling a little bit on edge.
"Perhaps it is," Niles sighed quietly "I mean we both know how she thinks about domestic staff. Maybe I've crossed a line."
Although Maxwell was silently agreeing with his friend on his secretary's attitude towards class differences he couldn't help but feel awkward. Having dodged a bullet with C.C. it seemed he was still meant to give relationship advice; a task made difficult by how little information he had about the actual situation he had interrupted and how reluctant he was to find out more about it. So in the end he decided to say the only thing that seemed plausible in his head.
"I think she would've made it quite apparent if you had crossed a line."
Niles sighed and smiled a little. This conversation wasn't giving him any new insights or re-assurance but he was nonetheless thankful for his friend's clumsy attempts at putting him at ease. "Thank you."
The dark-haired Brit smiled and walked to the door. "I should head back before Sara starts asking questions. Why don't you join us?"
"No thank you, Maxwell. I'm not really a big fan of board games."
His employer nodded and left, secretly musing to himself that it was probably better this way. God only knew his secretary and butler could take a game of Monopoly to a whole new, competitive level.
But he needn't have been so worried in the first place. C.C. was much too preoccupied with her thoughts regarding this morning's incident to take the game as serious as she usually would've done. Wedged between the children she had endured countless screaming matches, outbursts and game pieces flung at her, all of which without batting an eyelid. Yet while the kids were counting their blessings, Sara was growing unnerved by her friend's calm and absent-mindedness.
"Are you sure you're feeling alright, Chas?" she asked carefully when the children had bounded into the kitchen to help themselves to yet more snacks.
"Yes, I'm just feeling tired. Didn't get much sleep last night."
She lied because she really did not want to discuss the incident with anyone else. A moment later, however, she regretted choosing that particular excuse.
"Why don't you go and have an early night then, mmh?" Sara suggested gently, squeezing her hand.
"Nono, I'll be alright." C.C. hurriedly said, sitting up straighter.
It was much too early to return to the hut. She'd been hoping to stay away so long that Niles would be asleep by the time she returned.
"Don't worry, Chas, you don't have to feel bad. I know you've been trying your best to convince me that you didn't mean those comments about Brighton and Maggie on the first day. I'm not mad anymore. Just go and get some sleep."
C.C. sighed, realising that there was no way out now. Leave it to Sara to turn her absent-mindedness into a thoughtful gesture.
"If you're sure?" she hedged one last time but then rose to her feet when Sara nodded.
"We'll see you tomorrow for breakfast."
"Goodnight," C.C. smiled forced and then made her way through the corridor and to the front door.
Before she could reach it, the door was already opened and Maxwell slipped inside, rain dripping from his coat and onto the wooden floor.
"Still hasn't stopped yet, has it?" she asked and he shook his head.
"Terrible. Are you off then?"
"Yes," she nodded "did you find the laptop?" And her voice dropped to a quieter tone.
"Yes," he nodded "I made some corrections in red. You have my documents?"
"I took a quick look but I didn't think it wise to smuggle them out in this weather."
"No…true…" he nodded pensively "maybe tomorrow."
"Exactly, goodnight, Maxwell."
The rain hit her like a bucket of ice water, pelting her body and soaking her to the bone within seconds. She increased her pace and hurried up the now muddy path to the hut she shared with Niles. For the first time that day she didn't have time to think what their encounter would be like and simply burst into the hut.
"You've always known how to make an entrance," Niles commented with a crooked grin, while she quickly peeled her soggy coat off.
It would've been so easy to pretend then that nothing out of the ordinary had transpired between them. But she couldn't bring herself to toss back an insult and instead focused on removing the rest of her clothes, her trousers sticking uncomfortably and icily to her skin. Without a word she moved on to her bedroom and started undressing there and had just managed to put on a soft pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt before he appeared in her doorway.
"If you're going to say now "We need to talk" I will kill you." She stated soberly and he closed his mouth again.
"So you don't think we should?" Niles asked, watching her as she slipped past him and into the bathroom to retrieve a towel to dry her hair.
"I don't see a reason," she shrugged.
"Well, I do." He insisted "I am sorry if I made you feel uncomfortable or if I crossed a line. I wasn't thinking at that moment which isn't to say that I regret it."
C.C. tried not to pay attention to his words and focused on towelling her hair instead. But it wasn't long before he noticed and cornered her, gently prying the towel out of her hands.
"C.C., for God's sake, look at me!" he insisted a bit more firmly "You don't have to feel embarrassed for reacting shyly or for wanting something more to happen. We both-"
He didn't get any further because she had quickly stepped closer and captured his lips. The kiss was hard and rough and much more sexual as her tongue coaxed his into action. But it felt completely wrong. In a different situation Niles may have enjoyed this more passionate approach but right now it seemed to be lacking something and he knew she had only kissed him to shut him up.
He broke away panting and raggedly muttered: "I am not going to sleep with you."
His rejection stung far more than she had expected and she took a step back to further distance herself from him.
"You could've fooled me this morning." She said icily and he sighed, closing his eyes for a split-second.
"Damnit, Babcock, that's not what I mean. Of course I am interested but not just that. I don't just want to have sex with you now and then wake up tomorrow morning with you pretending that nothing has happened. It was difficult enough today! There is more between us, C.C., just –"
"No," she answered clipped.
Because there couldn't be more between a butler and a socialite, there couldn't be more between her and the man who insulted her daily, there couldn't be more because it would alter the only stable relationship she'd had.
"There's nothing but a sexual attraction between us, Niles. And if you don't want to explore that…very well," she shrugged "I am certain I will find another man who is willing."
She moved past him and to her bedroom again but he grabbed her wrist before she could disappear.
"You're cheating yourself out of something with real potential because you're scared. I hope you won't regret it." He said softly and quietly, yet without being able to look her in the eye.
Then he took his hand away and withdrew to his bed while her door gently thudded close behind her.