I have been a bad author I know. I had a bunch of family in town for the past two weeks and I haven't had the time or the privacy to write. This idea has been stuck in my head every since I saw the challenge on LJ and I just couldn't let it go. I will post the next chapter of With a Little Bit of Grace in the next few days. I hope this will hold you guys over until then. Enjoy!

Disclaimer- I don't own anything!

As Niles stood there looking into the dark and peaceful room, he begin to count the ways that their lives were blended together, all the ways that they were interconnected one way or another. They completed each other and brought out each other's best qualities even if it was through their witty banter and outrageous pranks.

He began to consider his day to day routine. Their day would start by him preparing their breakfast while she showered and prepared for the day. The breakfast was always adorned with two mugs, a cup of coffee for himself and tea for her. They had their specific cups, his was black and hers was white. And while you could distinctly tell whose was whose by the names "Witch" and "Bellboy" engraved into the sides of cups, after every time she walked into the kitchen and let out a sultry "Mornin' Baby," and he responded with "Mornin' Dumplin'" she would kiss him senseless before bringing her red lips to her cup. So not only was the rim of her cup darkened from her red lipstick but his was as well from where her lipstick rubbed off on him and was transferred to the cup.

They were simple things really but even their attire is influenced by the other. She knows that he loves when she wears blue, whether it is navy or teal or a robin's egg blue. He says that it brings out her eyes and makes them sparkle so somewhere in her daily attire is a fleck of color. And he knows that she hates when he wears stuffy suits unless he absolutely has to so he let her pick out a line of clothing. But when he does have to wear a suit and tie she is the first one to lay hands on the tie to knot it. And while she does this, he runs a soothing hand through her already done hair to give it that extra little bit that she knows that only can give it.

They soon part their separate ways as she heads to the studio and he heads to run errands before returning to their home to continue working on either his writing or composing. Even while apart they are never far from one another. His screensaver on his computer consists of a picture that he snapped of her when she wasn't looking. She was sitting on the green leather couch that she insisted that Maxwell give her when they made their cross country voyage, her head is deep in a file and her blonde hair is clipped in the back with a few wisps framing her face. It is his way of knowing or rather seeing what it is she is doing when he is working on a piece although sometimes while he is working he could just stare at the pictures for hours. In the same sense, in her brief case she carries a folder filled with poems and short stories that he wrote over the years. Each written on a different piece of paper in his handwriting. Every so often when either the work is slow or she just needs to calm herself down, she will take one out and read it.

Some days he brings her lunch or he will pick her up and they will go out. And as much as she loves when they have the opportunity to do this, she always gets a good chuckle out of the lunches that he packs her. Each one has a note which somehow manages to brighten her day. Her favorite one being "Since I know that you can't manage to even to make a peanut butter sandwich edible, I decided to make you lunch. Try not to choke on the chicken bones. Hate you- Niles." And on those days she would try and make it home early and surprise him with a late lunch pre dinner dessert.

Those were the only days when she didn't call her on her way home. Every other day she would call him from her car phone and she would go on and on about all of the actors that were slacking and all of the set designers that were weeks behind on their projects and they would talk until she pulled her car beside his in the driveway. Waiting for her would be a plate of fruits and veggies to hold her off until dinner was ready. This is when she would get a taste of what his day was like, as most days she will take her plate over to the piano bench and sit next to him and listen to his daily progress and when she is done with her snack she will scoot closer to him and breathe in his scent as the stress of the day washes from her body. She would close her eyes and he would have to nudge her from falling asleep at his side.

From there she would move to the couch and would rest her eyes for a while as he finished preparing dinner. On tough days, he would make her favorite dinner and would set candles and dim the lights to make her feel special. Other days when things were so-so, they would take their food onto the back patio and enjoy the California evening as they ate. Sometimes these dinners were followed by a dip in the all too inviting pool that they had secluded to themselves. And on her good days when all she wanted to do was spend time with her husband without having to worry about cooking, she would call in dinner on her way home and have it delivered.

The rest of the evenings were usually filled with relaxation for both. She would read more of his scripts while he would massage her sore feet. Sometimes and soak in tub for both of them was a necessity and while she would love a glass of wine the fact that her husband was there with her, masked by the bubbles and warm water made the loss feel more rewarding. And yet other nights, he would spend a few hours reading on the front porch swing while her head was in his lap and her eyes were closed just enjoying the calmness of the evening.

They weren't boring to say the least. They played their pranks and matched each other's wits but at the end of the day they always climbed into bed together and he would cuddle her close. By this time she was normally completely exhausted and ready for any form of sleep she could muster. He never knew it about her until after they were already married but she liked to cuddle. He figured she wanted to wait and make sure they would last before she let him see how vulnerable she really was. She would rest her head on his chest and he would wrap his arms around her and bring his nose into her hair and inhale her scent.

It was amazing how fluid their routine was. Of course some mornings she would find a dirty sock randomly on the kitchen floor suspiciously near the counter where the tray with the mugs on it. And some days she would hide the little feather duster that he would use to brush off his keyboard. Sometimes he would reach into the refrigerator for the iced tea and find an empty jug with a note telling him to be a good butler and make more tea. Other times she would find a plastic spider or snake in her brief case.

But today things didn't go according to their normal routine. Instead of waking up with CC by his side and having their normal tea and coffee together, he filled both of their travel mugs which coincidently matched their regular mugs respectively. And instead of seeing her out the door or driving her to work, he drove his car to the hospital. Upon entering the maternity ward he couldn't help but smile at what was waiting for him. When he passed by the nursery window and saw that 'Baby Brightmore' was not in the bassinet, his smile grew knowing that there was a little bit of mommy-baby bonding time going on.

He knocked on the door twice before hearing a muffled 'Come in'. He entered slowly and his smile grew from ear to ear at the sight before him. CC being prompt as always was dressed in loose comfy shorts and one of his t-shirts claiming that she was still sore and didn't give a shit who saw her between the exit and her home. Niles set her tea on the table next to the bed and a hand through the wisps of hair that had slipped from where she had the rest of her blonde hair tied up. He was wearing her favorite shirt on him.

And yet her eyes sparkled especially since they spec of blue that was included in her attire came from the pale blue hat upon the infant's head that she had cradled in her arms.

"Have you eaten yet this morning?" He asked as he caught her admiring the small being in her arms.

"I haven't had the chance. I couldn't sleep earlier so I went and checked on him in the nursery. Seems like he inherits his sleep patterns from me because he was wide awake. The nurse let me take him for a bit and we just got done giving little man his breakfast." She said as she gave a weak smile. It was obvious she was still exhausted but was fighting it for all it was worth.

"Don't worry; I will make sure you get your doggie kibble when we get home. Did the doctor say when you could leave?" He asked as he ran his finger along his son's arm before the infant closed his hand around Niles' finger. He smiled even brighter then.

"The nurse said that the doctor would be around doing rounds so whenever she gets here, I guess." The infant started squirming in his mother's arms and started to fuss. Worry struck CC and Niles could tell that CC was still feeling rather inadequate in the mothering department so he scooped his son out of her arms and carried him to the changing table.

CC was about to get up from the bed when Niles turned and said, "Sit. I can change his diaper. You should rest while you can." CC wasn't about to argue with him so she leaned back on the bed and admired his handiwork.

She could hear Niles whispering to their son but couldn't make out what he was saying. "You better not be telling him what a terrible mother I am going to be," she said.

"Don't sell yourself short, darling. I was just telling him never to eat anything that you cook." He said with a smirk as he carried his son back over to his mother and placed him in her arms.

"Well thanks for the bout of confidence, lover."

"Hey now, little ears." He said as he motioned toward the newborn in her arms.

She wanted to reply back with a witty comment asking what those little ears were going to do when she felt well enough to resume their marital activities but had gotten caught up in the bliss of looking at her newborn son. "I can't believe how small he is. Sure I thought that he was the size of a watermelon when I was pushing him out of a hole the size of a-"Niles coughed before she could finish her sentence. "But now looking at him, I can't believe that he is this tiny. And he is ours. What did we bring into this world?"

"Probably a little terror if you ask me." Niles said jokingly.

"Hey!" She shot of in his direction. "Save the insults for me, not the baby."

He chuckled then. "Look at you protecting your young; you aren't going to eat me now are you?"

"You aren't going to be eating anything of mine anytime soon with that comment and the fact that I spent nineteen hours in labor with your child."

"It takes two to tango my dear. But I must confess, I know you had a hard time resisting my body."

"Ha! Looks like someone needs to be brought back from his ego trip."

There was then a knock at the door and the doctor looked in to give CC and the baby a once over. Seeing that both mommy and baby were doing just fine he sent a nurse to collect their discharge papers. Twenty minutes later found CC sitting in the backseat of Niles' car tucked closely to the car seat that her son was comfortably napping in. Occasionally she would fix his cap or straightened out his shirt. He might grow up to be a little terror but he will be the best dressed little terror.

When they returned home, there was no need for a plate of fruit and veggies or an afternoon spent at the piano. It was time for both mommy and baby to take a nap which CC was more than enthused about. So after helping CC get comfortable in bed and placing the baby boy in the bassinet in his parent's room, Niles shut off the over head light and made his way to the living room. CC might not have been able to join him on the bench but he could still give her something to fall asleep to. He started playing a slow tune that he knew that she loved.

This time he did prepare her a much needed snack before dinner and as he made his way back up the stairs he could hear her humming the same tune that he had being playing on the piano an hour before. "I thought you were going to get some sleep." Niles half asked.

"I was until this little man voiced his opinion that it was lunch time."

"It is also time for all good mommies to eat as well. You must be hungry. You haven't eaten anything all day."

"Famished, really, but I will do."

"Lunch will be ready shortly but I thought you might need a snack."

"Have the Sheffield's called yet? I am surprised that I haven't heard from Nanny Fine by now."

"She called earlier. She was going to wait for Mr. Sheffield and Grace to come with her before she stopped by."

"How polite of her, wait until after the kid is fed, changed and ready for bed before she shows up."

"It could be worse, my dear. She could be bringing the twins with her. This way Sylvia will be able to be there to watch the wins."

"I believe that the little one needs some bonding time with his dust buster daddy."

"Well, this dust buster daddy doesn't mind relieving the witch of her spell casting duty." He then sat down next to CC on the bed and took the baby from her arms. She leaned against him as she dug into her snack. Without fail though, within moments again both mother and child were asleep against him. It was magic really how his whole life could change in just a little bit of time. And yet he couldn't imagine it any other way.

Later that night after the Sheffield's had come and gone. The new parents took the child to his nursery and settled him down for the night. CC had spent a good half hour sitting in the rocking chair with the baby in her arms before Niles coaxed her back into their bedroom. She followed him into the master bath and stood next to him at the 'his and hers' sinks as he prepared for bed.

"Thank you," she said.

"For what?" he asked as he glanced up at her through the mirror.

"For giving me him. For Christopher. For believing in me. For loving me." It was one of those odd times where CC actually showed vulnerability. He was too stunned to even speak so he wiped the little bit of toothpaste from his mouth and pulled her in for a soft kiss.

"You're welcome, my dear. Now come on let's get some sleep before we have to get up again."

In the middle of the night, CC woke to find the other side of the bed empty. Tiptoeing down the hallway she saw that the nursery door was open and that Niles was looking over into the crib. She continued up behind him and wrapped her arms around him from behind.

"What are you thinking about, lover?"

"Just how perfect he is and how grateful I am."

"I get it."

"My goodness. I can't think of anything more precious. He is a little bit of you and a little bit of me and I couldn't ask for anything more perfect to bring us closer together." She turned his face toward hers and pulled him down for a soft and slow kiss before breaking apart to continue to admire little Christopher Andrew Babcock-Brightmore.