I'm dedicating this story to my little sister Anne, who gave me the greatest gift a chronically single girl like me could ever get. She made me an aunt to the prettiest girl in the whole world, Julia.

Disclaimer: Just messing with my favourite characters, even though they're not mine.

Hope you like it. Let me know if you do (or even if you don't).

Junior

(or "How you realize Life's little surprises might not be as bad as you used to think.")

by Mette (mette_kjoller@yahoo.com)

Before reading this try and forget (almost) everything that happened in the 6th season.

It was a perfectly normal day in September. The Sheffields' wedding and honeymoon were things of the past and everything had returned to normal - well, as normal as the Sheffield household could possibly get. Fran had taken Maggie shopping, the other kids were at school, Maxwell and CC were working in the office and Niles was cleaning up after lunch.

As he put the dishes in the dishwasher, Niles hummed a little tune to himself. Everything seemed to be right with the world today and he felt good. He was bending down with his head almost inside the dishwasher, when CC walked into the kitchen.

She didn't notice that he was in the room at all. She just went straight for the refrigerator.

'What to eat?' she thought to herself as she looked inside.

It was only an hour since she had lunch, but she was hungry again. She knew she shouldn't be eating again already, she had gained a bit too much lately, but she was hungry, no-one really noticed how she looked anyway and honestly she just didn't care. Her weight had gone up and down like a yo-yo the last couple of years, so she would most likely loose the extra pounds soon. Or at least she hoped so.

Niles peeked up from the dishwasher and saw CC roaming around in the fridge. She hadn't said anything to him so he figured she wasn't aware of his presence.

'How to take advantage of this sudden opportunity? Oh, yes...' Niles smiled in anticipation, as he crept closer to scare the hell out of the dragon.

He almost laughed out loud, when she began rocking from side to side while tapping a rhythm with her right foot as if she was listening to a tune inside her head. It looked absolutely hilarious. He wished he had a video camera.

CC was still completely consumed by the task of selecting food, when Niles stopped only a foot away from her and looked at her more closely.

She looked good today, even though it looked like she'd gained a little weight. Not that it was any wonder, she'd been eating like a pig lately. Oh, he'd better remember that one for later. Her little private refrigerator-dance made her seem happy, but why had she eating so much? 'Well, it's not like you're one of the thinnest people around here yourself, is it?' Niles scolded himself, still watching her as she almost climbed inside trying to reach the ketchup-bottle in the back.

He was so caught up in his own thoughts about her, that when she suddenly turned around with both arms filled with food, he got almost as big a shock as she did.

She dropped the food and let out a scream that could have woken the dead.

"Aaaaarrrghhh.....!!!! Niles, you idiot! You scared me half to death! What the hell were you doing standing right there, you little hobgoblin!!"

He'd been close to screaming too, but quickly collected himself. She was yelling something at him, but he didn't really listen. He was far too busy trying to make his heart stop beating as if it was trying to jump right out of his chest.

CC didn't listen to what she was yelling either. She hadn't heard him at all and then suddenly he'd been there. God, she hated, when he scared her like that!

Slowly they both calmed down and just looked at each other, still standing only a foot apart.

"Niles, if you ever do that again, I will personally tie you up and throw you off the Empire State Building," she hissed between her teeth, then calmly stepped over the mess on the floor and walked back to the office.

After she'd left Niles just kept staring into the open refrigerator. God, he hated when she scared him like that! He took a deep breath and began cleaning up. He decided that the next time he had to plan it better. She was beginning to have far too much influence on the outcome of his tricks.

~~~~~~~~~~

When CC stepped back in to the office, she had almost calmed down. Maxwell looked at her a bit puzzled.

"What was all that screaming about, CC?".

"Just your butler trying to be funny. Nothing interesting really."

"Oh, okay." Maxwell knew that getting into a discussion about what went on between his butler and business associate was never a good idea.

"Maxwell, I have a doctor's appointment this afternoon, so I'll be gone for a few hours, okay?"

"Sure, CC. There isn't anything wrong with you, is there?"

"Of course not. It's just a check-up."

"Okay. By the way, have you seen the new chorus girls' contracts? I can't seem to find them anywhere."

Thankful for the change of conversation topic, she went back to work.

~~~~~~~~~~

Since CC turned 16 she'd had a standing appointment with her doctor every 6 months. CC was good at a lot of things, but listening to her body was not one of them and she knew it. So she needed someone else to tell her if there was something wrong with it. Last week her doctor had taken some blood tests and now it was time to hear if there was anything new. There usually wasn't.

~~~~~~~~~~

"I'm what?!" She had to have heard him wrong. It just couldn't be right.

"CC, you're pregnant," Dr. Aaronson repeated patiently.

"Pregnant? You mean like I'm-going-to-be-the-size-of-a-whale-pregnant?"

"Yep, exactly that kind of pregnant."

CC's brain began working overtime. It couldn't be... She hadn't even... It was more months than she cared to admit since she... A thousand thoughts went through her head at once and she felt herself begin to panic. 'Calm down, CC, breathe deeply. Do not freak out now.'

"How far along am I?" she asked as calmly as she could.

"I can't tell that from the blood-test. An ultrasound could give me a big hint, but the most accurate thing would be if you think back to some possible dates for conception."

"But that's just it I can't be... I haven't.... it's more than a year since..." CC's voice faulted and she went silent. Dr. Aaronson looked at CC. In his long career as a doctor he'd told a lot of single women that they were pregnant and this wasn't the first time he saw this reaction. CC was almost catatonic, she just sat there staring right into space.

"CC?" No response. He grabbed her shoulder and shook it lightly. "CC, snap out of it." She finally blinked and looked at him.

"Dr. Aaronson are you 100% sure? This isn't a trick or something, is it?"

"No, it's not a trick and yes, I am 100% sure. The blood test is very clear on that point. Am I right when I'm guessing this isn't a planned pregnancy?"

"Planned?!" CC jumped out of the chair and began pacing back and forth in the small office. "How could I possibly have planned it?! I don't even know how or when I got in this situation in the first..." - she stopped dead in the middle of the room - "...place." She had suddenly remembered a certain morning four months ago. No. No, way. This just couldn't be true. If it was, it was the sickest trick the universe could possibly play on her. She just closed her eyes and tried not to think at all. This was more than she could take right now.

"CC, are you alright?"

She opened her eyes again.

"No, I'm not alright. I just figured out who the father is and it's about the worst possibility in the entire world."

"Well, when did you have a close encounter with this "possibility"? If you have a date or at least a week we'll know how far along you are."

"May 13th." She said it with a tone as if she was condemning herself to death.

Dr. Aaronson looked down at his calendar, quickly counting the weeks. "That makes it 16, almost 17 weeks...roughly 4 months."

"But... but I haven't felt weird, thrown up or... or... or any of those things you're supposed to when you're - you're... I can't even say it!"

"CC, not all women have those symptoms. Some just feel it like a mild flu for a couple of weeks. I guess you're just one of the lucky ones."

"Lucky?! You think I'm lucky?! I have to find out this way, when it is too late to have it removed." She stopped pacing for just a few seconds and looked at dr. Aaronson. "Or is it? Is there any chance I can get rid of it? Any chance at all?"

"I'm sorry, but no. You're way past the twelfth week, so your life had to be in serious danger before I could let you have an abortion."

CC almost fell back down in the chair. She felt doomed.

"You mean I can't do anything about this.. this.. parasite that has invaded my body?"

"It's a baby CC, not a parasite - remember that. But no, you can't do anything other than learn to accept what is happening to you, and remember that this part of it will be over in just 5 short months. Do you have anyone who can help and take care of you during your pregnancy? Your mother or a sister? Maybe the father?"

"The father?! This is all his fault. I'm gonna kill him for doing this to me!" CC grabbed her purse and stormed out of the office in search of a certain butler and with murder on her mind.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Niles!!!"

CC's yell rang through the mansion the second she slammed the front-door open. She didn't know how she had gotten from the doctor's office and back to the mansion, but she had worked up quite a temper on the way.

"Niiilllleeesss!!!"

Her voice was saturated with annoyance and impatience as she made her way to the kitchen, knowing that was where she was most likely to find the little perpetrator.

True enough. There he was, sitting at the kitchen table drinking coffee with Nanny Fine. CC didn't notice her though. She was far too agitated and furious. Her mind was only on him.

She almost ran up to him, grabbed the collar of his shirt with both hands and pulled him out of the chair. They ended up so close that their noses were almost touching. Trying hard to control her anger she hissed her accusation.

"You did this on purpose, didn't you? I can't believe you would go to this length to humiliate me, you little slime-ball. I am going to kill you so many times for doing this to me, that even your ghost is going to have scars for life."

Niles looked at her with great surprise... and perhaps a little fear, he had never seen her this upset before. What ever he had done, or she thought he had done, it was bad. It was really bad.

"What are you talking about? I haven't done anything to you." He paused a second. "Well, I haven't done anything lately." He tried to back off a little. They were far too close for comfort, but she hold onto him like a wino to the last bottle of booze.

"Oh, it's not lately I'm talking about, Betty Crocker," she said pushing him up against the counter, still holding on to his collar.

"Miss Babcock, what's the matter? Why are you pushing Niles around like that?"

Fran's characteristic voice cut through CC's anger filled mind and she slowly turned her head to look at the woman who had the nerve to disturb her in her rage. If eyes could kill, Fran would have been six feet under instantly.

"Nanny Fine," CC's voice was almost sweet, but leaving a clear hint that she could blow up any second. She continued with a fake smile: "I have something to discuss with Niles so if you'd please leave us alone, before I stuff you down the garbage disposer... head first!"

Fran wisely left the kitchen as fast as she could, and went in search of her husband. She hoped he could shed some light on what might have upset Miss Babcock so much.

CC turned her attention back to Niles as soon as Fran was out the door. The rage that surged through her body made it almost impossible for her to speak. Words just didn't seem enough to convey her feelings right now.

Niles saw as the expression on CC's face changed from anger to hate, then to outrage and back to anger. Her whole body trembled with the fierce emotions. Well, he might as well just get it over with now and find out what she thought he'd done to her, or she'd most likely kill him before he found out why. He looked her straight in the eyes and smiled.

"Miss Babcock, would you be so kind as to tell me what it is I'm supposed to have done to you?"

Taking a few deep breaths and glaring right back at him she finally found her voice.

"I'm pregnant," she spat out.

His jaw fell to the floor for just a second, but he quickly composed himself.

"You're what?"

"I'm... pregnant," she repeated, her voice sounding almost surprised. She loosened her grip on his shirt and slowly walked over to a chair and sat down. Saying the words out loud for the first time, made it come a lot closer. It was suddenly real. Oh god, she was actually pregnant.

Niles on the other hand hadn't grasped what she'd said yet. Why was she so mad at him? Okay, so she was pregnant, what did that have to do with him? It couldn't be because she thought he was ...

"Wait a minute, Miss Babcock, are you trying to say that I'm supposed to be the father? Because if you are, you're even more crazy than I thought."

She didn't give him an answer, but instead just looked up at him with a very expressive gleam in her eyes.

"Oh, you're nuts. This is so far out-" he suddenly stopped and smiled mockingly at her. "Oh, nice try, Miss Yell-a-lot. I almost fell for it, but you're not getting one on me this time." Certain that it was a joke he felt more relaxed, first now realizing he'd been holding his breath. "This has to be the weirdest joke you ever tried on me. You are beginning to get good at it, I must admit. Your best so far."

'He thought it was a joke!?'

"A joke!?" she jumped out of the chair and began pacing like she always did when she got mad. "You think it's a joke? I'm gonna be the size of The Good- Year Blimp and you think it's a joke!" She yelled the last part in his face.

"Oh, come on, Miss Babcock. How could it be anything else? We never-"

"The wedding, remember? Or more precisely the night after, Mr. Ho-ho-ho?" she interrupted him.

"But... but that's almost four months ago. If it true, why didn't you tell me sooner?

"I just found out myself, for Christ sake!"

Niles sank slowly down in a chair. What she was saying was finally beginning to seep into his brain, but could it really be true? Was he going to be a father? He couldn't believe it.

"Sure you're not just dumping this on me because you don't remember the name of your last date, so I'm the easiest target, Miss Freebie?"

"You bastard!" she yelled and slapped his cheek. Hard. With that, she was out the door before he could stop her.

After she'd disappeared, he kept sitting at the table holding the cheek she'd slapped. He knew the answer to his question without anyone telling him. Hell, he probably knew her social life better than she did. And it was, if possibly, even more pathetic than his own. It was him. There were no other alternatives. A little smile appeared on his lips. He was going to be a father - and the mother was no less than the dragon-lady. Oh, the poor kid. No one was ever going to believe this.

"Is she gone?" Fran peeked out from behind the kitchen door. Not seeing CC anywhere, she walked all the way inside. "So, what was all that about? Why was she so upset? And why are you smiling like that? Come on, dish, dish."

Fran sat down beside Niles, but it was like he didn't notice her at all. He just kept staring into space, completely lost in his own thoughts. "Niles? Niles, what was it all about?" She put a hand on his arm and finally he came to be aware of her.

"Huh? Oh, Mrs. Sheffield, it's you. Look I have to leave for a while, there is something I have to do. Don't worry about the fight. It wasn't about anything bad. Nothing bad at all." Niles got up and quickly left through the backdoor, grabbing his coat on the way out.

"Nice talking to you, Niles!" she yelled after him. Fran looked at the door very puzzled. "Now I don't understand anything," she muttered to herself.

~~~~~~~~~~

CC were a big jumble of feelings when she entered her apartment. First of all she was furious, because Niles hadn't believed her, but just made fun of her. She felt scared and hopeless, because she knew there was no way she could cope with this by herself. She, who was supposed to be able to do anything, had finally found one thing she knew she just couldn't do. And yet she had no choice. CC wanted to crawl under a blanket and stay there for the rest of her life.

She threw her jacket and purse on the coffee table and went straight for the liquor-cabinet. A drink, she desperately needed a drink. She quickly poured a glass and was just about to drink it, when she suddenly saw her own reflection in the hall-way mirror. What had caught her eye were the size of her stomach. CC slowly sat the glass back down and walked closer to the mirror. It was quite visible that she definitively had grown bigger around the waist. How come she hadn't noticed it before? My god, and she was gonna get even bigger before this nightmare was over. Not being able to look at herself anymore, she walked back into the living-room and laid down on the couch.

As she laid there staring up at the ceiling feeling the despair overwhelming her, there suddenly was someone banging at her front-door. She got up, while who ever it was kept banging away like he meant to break the door down.

"Who is it?" she asked.

"It's me, Niles. Open up Miss Babcock, I think me need to talk about a few things, don't you?"

"Oh yeah, what? You don't believe me anyway."

"Please, Miss Babcock, I do believe you. Now open the door, will you?"

She sighed deeply and opened the door. "Why are you here?"

"Like I said, we need to talk." He quickly walked inside and hung his coat in the closet. Then he took her by the arm and led her back to the couch.

"Look, I think I'm beginning to get the picture here. Even though we don't remember it, we slept together at the wedding and now you're pregnant, right?" Well actually he remembered that night far too well, but if she wanted to forget it, fine by him.

She clapped her hands a few times.

"Bravo, Sherlock. Mystery solved. Now go home."

"Oh, no. Now is when the interesting questions begins. Not about what has happened, but what's gonna happen." He sat down on the coffee-table opposite where she sat on the couch. "The first and most important one is: Do you want the baby?"

"No! Of course I don't want it, isn't that obvious?"

"Then let me have it."

She looked at him as if he'd gone completely mad.

"Oh, yeah. Let's go down to my doctor and say we'd like to switch so you're the one who's pregnant. Of course, no problem."

"I meant after it's born, nit-wit. Since we can't return it and say we'd like a nice three-piece suite and a matching coffee-table instead, we might as well figure out now, what to do when it gets here. And since you don't want it, I would love to take it of your hands."

She eyed him suspiciously. "Really?" This was almost too good to be true.

"Survive the next five months, Miss Babcock, and you will never have to think about it ever again. I only have one condition."

CC was ready to sell her soul to the devil for what he was offering. Trying not to let him know that, she remained as cool as she could.

"Okay, what's the deal? A million dollars on top of it? Or maybe you want me to produce one of your lousy plays?"

"No, even though both things would be nice. The deal is you have to let me in on everything that happens with the baby, like when it kicks, tell me how you feel it grow, when you feel sick and so on. I'm also to be allowed go with you to doctor's appointments, Lamaze classes and-" She looked at him very funny.

"What?" he asked.

"Why? Why do you want to do all that? - And I'm not taking Lamaze classes."

"Oh yes, you are. Now that it's my child, you better do what I say or the deal's off." he threatened. Then his face turned soft and he smiled from ear to ear. "As for the 'why', I see this as my one shot at immortality, my one chance of ever becoming a father. This is probably... no, not probably, this is the greatest thing I've ever made and I want to be with it all the way - even before it's born. So is it a deal?"

"Deal," she sighed.

"Great! Miss Babcock, I'm gonna take so good care of you two, that when this is all over, you won't want to let me go." He got up and walked over to the liquor-cabinet where he began collecting the bottles on a tray.

"Niles, I will most likely shoot you before Christmas, and what the hell are you doing with my best bourbon and scotch?"

"I'm throwing it out. Knowing your thirst I'm not letting you have any booze in the house and you better stay completely sober or I will call of the deal."

"But Niles I can't..." The way he looked at her made it very clear he meant what he said.

"Okay, okay," she murmured, rolling her eyes.

He walked into the kitchen and began pouring the content for the bottles down the sink, he kept talking to her.

"Tomorrow I'll call your doctor and get an appointment as soon as possible. And I'll talk to Mr. Sheffield about your work hours, because I don't want you to work too much now. You musn't strain yourself. It's bad for the baby. I should go to the library to find some pregnancy-books - which you should read too, by the way. Maybe I should get the guestroom ready for you so you don't have to travel back and forth so much. Do you know whether it's a boy or a girl?"

CC, still sitting on the couch, slowly laid down on it and stared once again up at the ceiling.

Not getting an answer, Niles peeked out from the kitchen and saw her lying down.

"Are you okay, Miss Babcock? Can I get you something? Water? A snack? Anything?"

Putting a pillow over her face, CC thought to herself that she obviously had sold her soul to the devil, because if Niles was going to continue being like that, the next five months was sure to be hell.

~~~~~~~~~~

"You're what?!"

"You heard me, Maxwell. And Nanny Fine just fainted." CC calmly looked at her boss as he and Niles helped Fran back up on her feet again.

CC was glad they had agreed to wait a couple of days to spring the news on the Sheffields. It had given her a little time to get used to the idea of being pregnant. She definitively still didn't like it, but at least now she was able to say it out loud without feeling completely defeated and doomed.

So far CC had only found one positive thing about this whole affair. She would finally have beaten Nanny Fine at something and she intended to milk it as much as she could. CC couldn't help smiling smugly.

Fran was obviously still quite shaken, but that didn't stop her from talking.

"Miss Babcock, you're pregnant? You're gonna have a baby? Before me?! But I... I'm the one who finally got married. I can't believe this. Ma is gonna kill me," she paused a second and pointed at CC "-or maybe she's gonna kill you. Either way it's not going to be pretty."

"But... but CC, you haven't been seeing anyone lately, have you?" Maxwell interrupted his wife, knowing she would go on until someone stopped her. "Who's the father? Do we know the man?"

CC smiled like a necrophiliac in a morgue. Sometimes they just asked for it - it was almost too easy.

"Yes, you both know him. You know him quite well actually."

"Well, who is he then?"

Niles and CC looked at each other. Oh, this was going to be so good. Niles casually walked over to stand next to CC. She put a hand on his shoulder, their eyes still locked on each other. Then they both turned their heads and looked at the Sheffields.

Maxwell just stared at them, mouth open and his eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head.

"Excuse me, sir, but it looks like Mrs. Sheffield has passed out again."

~~~~~~~~~~

The following weeks were weird for CC. So much happened and so many changes were imposed on her that she didn't know what to do. On some account she was glad Niles took care of everything, but on the other hand it annoyed her to the point where she felt like screaming.

In just three days he had almost redone her entire apartment. To make it more 'comfortable' he said. 'Comfortable, my ass.' Now she couldn't find anything anymore. And if that wasn't enough her refrigerator was completely transformed. Her beloved cheesecake and Chinese left-overs were gone and had been replaced by an incredible amount of greens and fruits. Milk substituted for the coke-bottles. The only thing he'd let her keep was the bottled water. And to top it all, his argument for doing all this to her - "It's what's best for my baby, so learn to live with it!" She was steaming with fury.

All this she might be able to get used to, but what bothered her the most was when Niles dragged her all over town, just to be places she didn't want to be and see people she didn't want to see.

For instance their first doctor's appointment. That was an experience CC never wanted to repeat ever again.

Even though the appointment was for her, Niles was the one doing all the talking. CC just sat in a chair, arms crossed, trying to ignore both Niles and her doctor.

At first she had tried to follow their conversation, but she quickly gave up. Even though they'd both been around Mrs. Sheffield #1, when she had been pregnant, Niles obviously knew a lot more about the subject than she did and he and the doctor just blabbered on and on without explaining anything. Either she had no idea what they talked about or the little she understood scared the living crap out of her. So she ignored them.

A touch on her arm interrupted her in her effort to think about something else. It was Niles trying to get her attention.

"Miss Babcock, when will you have time for an ultrasound?"

"Why should I want an ultrasound?" She was still on the defensive side.

"Don't you want to know the sex of your baby?" Dr. Aaronson asked.

"No!"

Both men looked at her rather funny as if she'd grown a second head or something.

"Look, both of you. The only reason I'm here is because Niles forced me, so take as many tests as you like, but don't tell me the results unless they show that I'm dying, tell him" She pointed at Niles. "It's all his fault anyway," she muttered.

Niles couldn't help chuckle. She was going to blame this on him for the rest of his life, even though it was actually her who'd been the aggressive part that night. Not that he'd disliked it, not at all.

CC continued, ignoring his grin. "The only thing I want to know is when this nightmare's gonna be over."

Dr. Aaronson looked down at his papers. "Well, your calculated due-date is February 4th, but you should know that it's only an educated guess. He or she may want to arrive from two weeks before this date to two weeks after and still be within normal range."

"So maybe I should just book all of January and February, just to be sure?" she said sarcastically.

Dr. Aaronson couldn't help laughing. He loved his client's sense of humour. And from the looks he'd been sending her while they'd been there, apparently so did the father of her child. He also noticed that Niles was so good at hiding his fascination for her, that CC wasn't aware of it at all.

"Why are you collecting your things, Miss Babcock?" Niles voice disrupted the doctors thoughts.

"Why do you think, Windex? I'm going home."

"But we haven't finished talking!" He had to yell the last part, because she had already out the door.

"You might not, floor mop, but WE have!" she yelled back.

Dr. Aaronson looked at Niles, who just smiled, shaking his head a little. Silently the doctor sent the baby a 'good luck' thought. With those two as it's parents it was sure to be needing it.

~~~~~~~~~~

Niles loved the prospect of becoming a father. Every single little annoying detail of it. Seeing it grow inside Miss Babcock, looking for baby things, having Miss Babcock yelling at him for doing it to her, dreaming about it, just the whole feeling of fatherhood made him smile all the time. The fact that he could irritate Miss Babcock with it was just icing on the cake.

He read a lot of books on pregnancies in record time. The same day he read that the baby was able to distinguish between different voices already when it was still a foetus, he began talking to it.

The first time he had bend down and talked to her stomach, Miss Babcock had been sure he'd finally gone senile and had told him so, with a few very expressive adjectives attached.

She had accepted it after a rather short fight though. She must have been tired. She had accepted a surprising lot of things after relatively short fights. There was actually only one thing she persistently refused to do, no matter how much he threatened or begged her. It had been their biggest fight ever.

"It is not tiring me, Niles!"

"Oh, please. I know you better than you know yourself on that point. You're so stubborn you would have to pass out from fatigue before admitting you might be a little tired."

"That's not true and you know it!"

"But you have to rest. I will not have you putting my child at risk just because you want to work your butt off - even though that would take more work than one person could do in a lifetime."

"Listen Dust Bunny, I don't care what you say, I'm not cutting down"

She was just not giving in this time, so it was time to bring on the heavy artillery.

"I'll call off the deal if you don't." That line had worked as a very good trump card in resent arguments - but not in this one.

"I don't care, Niles. I have to work."

At that point he knew he had lost, but that didn't mean the fight was over.

"Why? Why are you willing to risk the well-being of our baby, just because you want to work?"

"You really don't get it, do you? It's not a question of want to work, I have to work." She sighed and looked down at her hands. "This is who I am, co-producer in Sheffield/Babcock Production, a workaholic. It's all I have Niles, don't take it away from me."

This strong, confident woman had looked up at him with pleading eyes and he knew he had lost the battle. When she looked at him like that he could deny her nothing. If only she knew the power she had over him. Not knowing what to say Niles just bent down, said good-bye to her stomach and left.

The subject was never brought up again.

~~~~~~~~~~

There were many different reactions to the news of CC's pregnancy. The choreographer at their current play quit on the spot not being able to cope with the vision of a pregnant CC with mood swings yelling at him. CC's mother was surprisingly calm until she heard who the father was. Then she fainted. Most people had to see it before believing it, but the weirdest reaction came from Fran.

Fran took CC's condition as a slap in the face and a challenge to overcome. If CC could have a baby so could she! So after the news about the pregnancy, there was a period of time where CC had to do a lot of the work in the office by herself because Maxwell was rather preoccupied by his wife. She wanted to have that baby as fast as possible!

In difference to most of Fran's other "projects" she actually succeeded in this one - and fast too. So it was already in the beginning of October she proudly announced to the children that they were gonna have a new brother or sister arriving sometime in the spring.

~~~~~~~~~~

It was about a month after the initial shock of the prospect of motherhood, CC for the first time really got a taste of what was actually happening to her.

They had been working late one evening finishing up some contracts. CC was sitting in her usual spot on the green leather couch - only she didn't really look her usual self anymore. She had trouble fitting into her business suits and dresses so she was glad she still had some of her old "fat"clothes lying in the closet. Now wearing sweatshirt and pants and with her stocking feet up on the couch she looked the perfect image of relaxation, even though she was working hard and concentrated.

Deeply engrossed in some papers she suddenly felt a slight pain in her stomach. Thinking she probably just ate too much of Niles' wonderful pudding she ignored it at first. When it came back a few minutes later, now a little stronger, she couldn't help a muffled moan. Maxwell looked at her.

"Are you alright, CC?"

"I don't know. Niles probably put something weird in my tea. It felt like someone punched me in the stomach."

Maxwell smiled. "Someone probably did - from the inside" He looked back down at his desk and chuckled slightly.

CC went completely silent. Maxwell noticed it and looked back up at her. Her face was white as a sheet and her eyes looked very frightened. He got up and walked over to the couch.

"CC, what's the matter?"

"That was the baby kicking?" she whispered.

"Most likely. You are 5 months along. It would only be natural to feel it by now. Actually I'm surprised you haven't felt it before." He sat down beside her and took her trembling hands in his.

"Maxwell, I can't do this, it's too much." Then almost inaudibly she whispered. "I'm so scared."

Knowing how difficult it was for her to utter those words, he enveloped her in his arms and she put her head on his shoulder.

"Oh CC, there is nothing to be afraid of. You'll manage this just fine, like you do everything else."

"But it's a real baby. It just kicked me!"

"That is what babies do most of the time."

"You're not helping me here," she pulled away from him.

"CC, honestly, you have nothing to be afraid of. We're all here to help you through it. That is if you want us to. I know how scaring it is to become a parent. Remember how jumpy I was when Sara was expecting Margaret?"

Oh yeah, CC remembered. He'd been impossible to be around for almost an entire year.

"I remember. Sara just had to cough a little and you were ready to drive her to the hospital to check for pneumonia. But Maxwell, don't you see that is one of the scary things about this whole ordeal. Sara had you and now Fran needs you. While I - I don't have anyone to care for me."

"Hmm... You do have Niles," he said carefully.

"Gee thanks a lot. It's a really big comfort to know the only one I have is a man who hates my guts, laughs at me and who's hobby is making up new nicknames for me. Now I feel a lot better!"

"CC, I know this is a frightening time for you, but please don't be too rough on Niles. Actually I think he insults you because he doesn't know what else to say to you. But if you want me to I can talk to him about stopping it."

"Thanks, but no. I would probably be bored to death in no time if I didn't have him to yell at. Besides I can fight my own battles."

"Yes I know. I'm serious though, don't be too rough on him, especially when it concerns his baby. He told me about your deal - and between you and me I think he's sometimes scared to death he might have done something that will make you call it off."

"Really?" 'Could Niles really be as insecure about all this as she was?'

"Really. Remember you're only stuck with it for about four more months. He's chosen to be stuck with it for life."

His words really had her thinking. There were so many aspects of this ordeal that hadn't even crossed her mind before now. She had never really considered Niles' feelings in all this. With her mind preoccupied with these thoughts, she barely noticed Maxwell speaking to her.

"Huh? Sorry, what did you say?"

"I just asked if you're feeling any better now."

"Yes. Yes I think I am. And Maxwell..."

"Mhhmmm?"

"Thank you."

"Any time CC, any time."

And they went back to work.

~~~~~~~~~~

The next afternoon she was in the kitchen to get a bottle of water, when the baby kicked again. Still not used to movements she let out a small "Ouch".

Niles looked at her.

"Is something the matter?"

"No, I'm fine."

"I'm serious, if you're in any kind of pain and you're not telling me, I'll -"

"Niles, I told you I'm fine! It was just your little demon kicking me."

His eyes grew wide as saucers and she couldn't help smiling at the expression of utter shock on his face.

"The baby kicked?" he whispered. She nodded.

He walked closer to her and reached out his hand as if to touch her stomach, but stopped half-way there and clenched it. She watched Niles' body and face so clearly expressing the eagerness to feel his baby, but also the restraint, the fear of how she would react to his touch.

She couldn't deny him this. Besides they had a deal. At least that was what she told herself.

"It's okay, Niles. You can feel for yourself if you want to."

His face lit up in a big smile. He knelt down before her and gently put his hand on her T-shirt covered belly. Slowly he ran it over the small bulge where his baby was, hoping it would kick again. CC looked down at him. He seemed completely spell-bound by her stomach.

Suddenly he took his hand away and put the side of his face in it's place. She could feel his cheek and ear through the fabric. Okay, this was becoming way too chummy. She was about to pull away when the baby chose to give her a big punch. He obviously felt it too, because he smiled up at her with shining eyes.

"I felt it kick!" His voice was as happy as could be, joyful at this new experience with their baby. Before she had time to move away from him, he put his cheek back up against her stomach.

She looked down at him. His enthusiasm once again surprised her. He really loved that little thing growing inside her. She felt kind of envious of him, he had so many positive feelings towards this little someone he hadn't even met yet. Feelings so foreign to her. CC didn't know it, but a bit of the wall she had built around her heart broke down at that moment.

Now with his head next to her belly, she was content with just watching his emotions. She looked at his full head of hair, remembering the feel of it through her fingers that night more than two years ago. She hoped their child would inherit that from him. Unaware of what she was doing, she let a hand run through his hair, enjoying the soft feel of it.

Surprised at this gesture he looked up at her. She realized what she was doing and yanked her hand away.

"Ehh... I... you... there was a piece of lint." 'Oh, nice save, CC.'

He looked into her eyes, silently asking questions she couldn't answer. This was getting far too emotional so she did what she always did where she felt uncomfortable. She fled.

"I have to get back to work," and she was out the door, leaving behind a very puzzled Niles still on his knees.

~~~~~~~~~~

November began and so did CC's Lamaze classes. Or as Niles came to think of them: "Torture Disguised As An Ante-Natal Class". It was himself who had insisted on attending and there was no way he was backing out now, but those 45 minutes once a week was a real trial for him.

"Will you stop groping me all the time!" CC snapped while trying to get away from his hands.

"If you'd listened to the instructor for just one second you'd know this is how I'm supposed to hold you. And believe me I don't like it one bit more than you do," he snapped back.

Well, it wasn't a complete lie. Only the reason he didn't like it was the feelings it stirred inside him. He wanted to keep his hands there a lot longer than they needed to be. Niles took a deep breath and tried to think about something else.

In an attempt to ignore Niles, CC looked at the other women in the class. They looked like they'd swallowed beach-balls! How could they possibly move? To her great horror she realized that in a few months she was going to be that size too. This was more than CC could take so she turned her attention back to Niles. Fighting with him, was at least familiar.

"Why are we here anyway? I know how to breathe if you haven't noticed." She took a deep breath to demonstrate. 'Boy, is he smelling good.'

"The exercises are supposed to lighten the labour so you better be attentive." 'Why does it have to feel so good to touch her?'

"Why? I intent to be deeply unconscious when little junior here comes into the world." 'How come I never noticed his scent before?'

"No, you're not. I'm not letting you drug my baby." 'She'd kill me if she knew what pictures I have in me head, when I touch her.'

"Your baby? As far as I can see I am the one carrying it, so I believe the right term would be our baby." 'That perfume should be illegal!'

"Shhh..." The instructor quieted them down. "If the Babcocks would be so kind as to shut up for just a second we could all go on with the next exercise."

"The Babcocks?" Niles whispered to CC.

"Yes, the Babcocks," she whispered back. "I'm not about to let them know I'm not married. And now shut up!"

They turned their attention toward the others, none of them too happy about being interrupted in the middle of such a good bantering.

The rest of the class went by rather quietly but someone, who knew the couple well, would have noticed the look of envy on both their faces, when they looked at the other couples exchanging hugs and kisses.

~~~~~~~~~~

November went by far too quickly and December arrived. Angels, hearts and the smell of pine began to fill the mansion putting everybody in the Christmas spirit.

Niles had actually done as he had suggested in the beginning and made the guest room ready for CC so that whenever she wanted she could spend the night. As she grew bigger and bigger she used the opportunity more frequently. She claimed it was because Niles' little demon made it impossible for her to move around easily enough to get in and out of cabs all the time. It was true but secretly she also enjoyed the family feeling there was in the house especially around Christmas time. And it gave her more opportunities to order Niles around - a hobby she thoroughly enjoyed.

He really puzzled her some times. He still insulted her, called her names and played little tricks on her whenever he could, but something had changed. When she asked him to do something for her - or rather ordered him to do it - he did it. He didn't even complain about it, he just did it.

At first when she found out she exploited it as much as she could, but it soon lost it's appeal. It just wasn't fun when he didn't have a come-back for her or at least complained about it.

She had also caught him staring at her sometimes. The look in his eyes made her feel very odd. And he always had a faint smile lurking in the corner of his mouth when he looked at her like that. It made him seem like he knew a secret about her. A deep dark secret. The kind of secret you definitively don't want other people to know about. She wished she knew what went on inside his head.

~~~~~~~~~~

CC turned to lay on her left side and tried to fall asleep. Three minutes later she turned on to her back. Shortly after she tried her right side. She just couldn't find a comfortable position so she could get some sleep. Her usual one, laying face down, was unfortunately out of the question.

Well, if she couldn't get any sleep maybe she should get something to eat. Yes, that was a good idea. There had to be some leftovers of Niles' delicious cooking in the fridge.

As she approached the kitchen she heard a scraping sound from within it. What was that? Maybe a burglar? She reached for one of Maxwell's Tonys, when a very familiar whine calmed her down.

"Niles, is there any more of your lasagna left?"

"Yes, Mrs. Sheffield, there's plenty."

CC walked through the door. "Is there enough for me too?"

"Hi Miss Babcock. You couldn't sleep either, huh?"

"Isn't that kind of obvious Nanny Fine? Well, is there enough, Gruesome Gourmet?" She sat down at the kitchen table next to Nanny Fine.

"Of course there is, Night Stalker. With two pregnant women in the house I know I have to make double of everything, even though I thought you preferred fresh corpses this time of night."

"We can't all be ghouls like you, Niles." Niles put down two fully loaded plates of lasagna in front of the women.

"Thanks Niles," they both mumbled and began eating. He poured a cup of coffee and sat down next them. They both ate like there might not be any food for them tomorrow. He chuckled lightly.

"What?" CC asked between two mouthfuls.

"Oh, nothing. You might want to know though, that breakfast will be served in just 4 hours in case you want to leave a little room for it. That is of course if you've finished by then."

Fran looked at him a bit offended.

"If you must know we're eating for four people here. We're supposed to eat a lot," she stated. "And I'm not about to complain about it either," she muttered to herself. The others heard her though and couldn't help a little laugh.

CC just had to comment on his remark too.

"Me neither and who are you to talk about eating habits, Sir Lunch-a-lot?"

Fran let out such a loud, raucous laugh CC was sure it could be heard all the way to Jersey. When Fran finally calmed down CC had cleared both plates completely. She rubbed her belly with satisfaction.

"Ahhh. That really helped a lot. How about you, Nanny Fine?"

"Well the little you let me eat was delicious but I'm still very much awake. I really could use some warm milk. Niles...?"

"Sure, Mrs. Sheffield. You two go and get comfortable in the living-room and I'll bring some for both of you in a few minutes, okay?"

"Thanks Niles."

Fran and CC got up and waddled (that was at least what CC felt she was doing) into the living-room where they flopped down on the couch. After a little while Fran eyed CC with tilted head.

"What now?"

"Miss Babcock there is something I've been meaning to talk to you about, but I don't know quite how to say it."

"One word at a time usually works fine when I try it," CC said and snuggled deeper into the couch. "So, what is it?"

"It's your clothes."

"What about my clothes?"

"They make you look fat," Fran said very fast and backed away from CC as if she was avoiding a blow. CC hadn't tried to strike her though, she just shrugged.

"Yeah, so? In case you haven't noticed it I am fat."

"No you're not. You're pregnant."

"Same thing."

"Oh, no. Being fat is something you want to hide, a pregnant stomach is something to be proud of, something to show to the world."

"When you have it because you've been knocked up by a butler, it isn't."

"Yes it is, no matter who the father is. And you could be stuck with someone a lot worse than Niles, believe me I've dated most of them. Back to what I wanted to say. I intent to take you shopping tomorrow. It will make you feel real good about yourself."

"Let me guess; you won't take no for an answer?"

"Exactly. Oh, it's going to be so much fun, just the two of us together on a shopping spree."

"Why do you want to go shopping with me at all? You've never shown any interest before."

"Because I want to make sure you're buying something I can borrow, when I get to be as big as you are."

"Gee, thanks a lot."

"I meant it in a positive way, Miss Babcock."

Luckily Niles came in with the warm milk at that moment or World War III might have had its beginning. Niles served the women and sat down in the chair with a glass too. The three of them sat in a surprisingly comfortable silence for a while until Fran got up and went to bed.

CC had put her legs up on the couch and she'd slowly been sliding down so now she was more lying down than sitting up.

Niles looked at her. If it wasn't because she'd closed her eyes CC would have noticed Niles had that look in his eyes. That look that made her fell strange and uneasy.

She was so beautiful. He has once heard that no woman was more beautiful to a man than the one carrying his child. Niles didn't know who had said it, but he couldn't agree more. Not that she hadn't been beautiful before, but now nothing would ever compared to her.

Niles could see she was almost asleep. He had this strong urge to just sit and watch her sleep, but he knew he wouldn't be very popular with her in the morning if he did.

"Miss Babcock?" His voice was almost a whisper. No reaction at all. "Miss Babcock?" he said a little louder. Still no reaction. He got up from the chair and walked over to the couch. He gently put a hand on her stomach. He leaned closer and very quiet whispered to her stomach.

"Hi, in there. It's me, your dad. How's it hanging in there?" He felt a slight kick. "That well, huh? Well, I can imagine so. Listen, could you do me a favour? This whole pregnancy thing is a bit scary and difficult for your mother to handle, so be gentle with her, okay?" He felt another kick. CC stirred a bit and he reluctantly pulled his hand away. He moved closer to her head.

"Miss Babcock? Miss Babcock, are you awake?" 'Stupid question, you fool.' He shook her shoulder lightly. "Come on Miss Babcock, wake up."

"Hhmmm?" She opened first one eye, then the other. Sleepily she rubbed her face with the back of her hand and yawned. "Niles? What do you want?"

'To kiss you,' his treacherous inner voice said. He ignored it. "I just thought you might be more comfortable in your bed than here on the couch."

"You woke me just for that? I was doing fine here." She stretched her entire body from her fingertips to her toes and Niles felt his heart jump a beat.

"Sure you don't want to go upstairs?" He really had to concentrate to stay focused on the conversation.

She closed her eyes again and mumbled "Only if you carry me up there."

"Okay, the couch it is then."

She smiled at that as she turned onto her side and almost immediately fell asleep again.

Niles kept looking at her a long while before he fetched a blanket and covered her with it. As he tucked it around her he whispered to himself.

"Some day I'm going to tell you how much I love you. Some day." And then he went back to his own bed.

~~~~~~~~~~

CC would most likely never admit it, but she had actually enjoyed her day of shopping with Nanny Fine (as she with persistent stubbornness kept calling her) and her wardrobe definitively improved after it. She had had no idea they made maternity clothes so gorgeous now a days. The new clothes made her feel beautiful again and her mood became better with every item she bought - and she bought a lot.

All this shopping didn't help Niles much. Actually it did quite the opposite. The extra laundry was okay, ironing her dresses four times before she was satisfied he could live with, it was when she wore them he had a problem.

Before when she wore big baggy sweaters, he could sometimes forget the curves she hid underneath. Now they were all too visible to him. Most of her new clothes were just more comfortable than her old, but some of it was, in Niles opinion, down right sexy and far too often he found himself staring at her.

The amount of cold showers increased considerably.

Go on to Part Two