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“Babs, it’s her first birthday!”
CC turned around, dropping her case to the floor, and gently grabbed her husband’s face
“In 3 days. I will make it back. If I have to buy an entire airline to make it back in time, I will.” She stroked his cheeks softly with her thumbs. “I hate that I have to do this, Niles, I really do,” she said quietly, and he sighed. She only ever called him Niles when it was serious; the same way he never used CC except in emergencies.
“I know,” He said. “And I’m sorry. Me guilt tripping you isn’t helping.”
“Apology accepted. Your punishment will be determined on my return,” she gave a small smirk and pulled him close for a kiss. “I hate you.”
“Hate you more.” He grinned.
“But you, my sweet princess, I love and cherish and adore.” She turned her attention to the baby he had on his hip. Not quite a little baby anymore, but always her baby. She peppered Emily’s face with kisses while the little girl giggled. “Mama’s gonna miss you so much.” She pressed one big kiss to her cheek and looked back up at Niles. “I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
He nodded, and gave her a smile. The last thing he wanted her to remember going off on this trip was seeing the sadness he felt reflected in his eyes.
It wasn’t that he was upset with her for going. He knew why she had to go. This was a company thing, and in truth it had been scheduled to take place two months ago. It had been pushed back multiple times until they’d finally arranged a time suitable for everyone attending; it wouldn’t be fair if she was the only one who pulled out because of what was, in reality, an outside chance of missing her daughter's birthday. Emily wouldn’t even remember this in years to come.
But CC would. It would haunt her that she wasn’t there for a milestone and he knew it. She took everything so seriously when it came to their daughter. He knew her greatest fear was turning out like her own mother, and no matter what he did to reassure her that she was nothing like her that didn’t change. He still hated the fact that it meant she put herself under so much pressure.
He just hoped for her sake that she’d be able to make it.
When she came running back in for one last kiss from the both of them, he laughed. He should have expected nothing less from her.
“You’re awful quiet back there, CC.” Maxwell ventured. He hadn’t liked the idea of coming out at this time of year either but it was too big of an opportunity for the company for them to pass on.
“I’m pissed that they thought it was a good idea to reschedule for this time of year.” She huffed.
Grace turned round in her seat to give her a sympathetic look. “You’re missing Niles and Emily?”
She nodded. “My baby’s turning one. How did that happen?”
Max chuckled. “Been there. It goes by so much quicker than you think it will.” He glanced at Grace. “One minute they’re six and in therapy, and then next they’re looking to go to school out of state.” His lip trembled slightly.
Grace rolled her eyes. “It just seems to have passed so quickly.”
“I know. This time last year I was still on bed rest.”
Max and Grace looked at each other. “CC, we had to lock you in your bedroom because you kept trying to go for walks or order spicy food to induce labour.” He said disbelievingly.
“You offered to pay me $10,000 to sneak you some paperwork and hot sauce under the door.” Grace added. Max looked at her, horrified. He hadn’t known that. She put her hands up. “I didn’t take it, obviously!” She clarified, then muttered under her breath, “Niles had already paid me not to.”
“ANYWAY.” Max said, pulling his glare from his youngest to glance over his shoulder to CC. “Everything’s going to be fi-“
The car gave a sickening lurch as they hit a patch of black ice, and skidded across the road and into a ditch. They sat in shocked, petrified silence for a few moments, only broken by the sound of the heavy breathing of three people still, thankfully, alive.
“Maxwell, when - and I stress when - we make it back home, I am going to kill you.”
“Fair enough.”
It had been Fran who took the call from the hotel checking to see if the producers had left yet. They’d missed their scheduled check in time by 2 hours, and they’d been queried by other members of the meeting, asking when they’d arrive. No-one had been able to reach them so far. When neither picked up the phone to their spouses, Niles tried calling the emergency phone he kept in the glove compartment. That too went straight to voicemail. It was then that they both started to panic.
Niles phoned any and all emergency services he could that would even possibly have a chance of helping. Fran tried her best to keep everyone calm, but since she was very clearly not calm herself, it wasn’t helping much.
After a number of hours with no updates, Brighton found Niles in the library, clutching the screaming Emily to his chest. He’d known the man all his life, and he’d never seen the look on his face that was there now. Pure, unadulterated terror.
He carefully approached the two, slowly reaching his arms out to the baby. “Niles?” He asked gently. The man didn’t move. He looked down at Emily.
“Hey Emmy, it’s Uncle Brighton. Come on now.” He carefully took her out of her fathers arms, and she stopped screaming, despite continuing to cry for her mother. He gently bounced her up and down, and put his hand on Niles' chest.
“Niles.” He said, a little louder and firmer than before. Niles flinched as though he’d been struck, and looked between Brighton and Emily.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I can’t… I can’t do this again.” He murmured, backing up. As he did the back of his legs hit the seat of the couch and dropped down into the seat. Tears were streaming down his face.
“Stay here.” Brighton ordered, and left the room with Emily in his arms.
He found Fran in the living room. “You need to go see Niles. Now.”
She was about to make a comment about the bossy tone, but when she saw how genuinely worried her son looked, standing there with the baby sobbing in his arms, she bit her tongue.
“Where?”
“Library.”
She patted his arm comfortingly and ran up the stairs.
“Hey sweetie,” Fran cooed gently as she crept in the room. Niles was sat exactly where Brighton had left him, face still wet with tears. “I know it looks bad but come on, you really think something like a lil’ bad weather could take out CC?” She hoped it would make him chuckle, snap him out of it, but he just turned to her as she sat next to him and rubbed his arm.
“I can’t do this again, Fran.” His voice was so hoarse it almost didn’t sound like him at all.
“Do what, sweetie?”
He swallowed hard. “When… when Sara died, all Grace did was cry for her. Weeks, months; I don’t know how long it was. Max had stopped functioning, locked himself away, so it was me. I had to take care of her.” His lip trembled and his eyes glistened with fresh tears. “My own daughter… my baby… I can’t go through this again.”
Fran had never really considered how the family had handled the immediate aftermath of Sara’s death until now. She knew the basics; Max had locked himself away for months leaving Niles with the kids and CC with the business. They’d come out the other side of it, but clearly the scars of that time had never fully healed. She’d never imagined what it had actually been like to deal with 3 young children, with one of them being far too young to comprehend what was going on and why she couldn’t see her mother any more. He’d always had a softer spot for the youngest Sheffield, and she was beginning to understand why. He’d practically raised her, and it went a long way towards explaining his intuition with his own child.
Niles had always had a complete handle on his daughter from the minute he knew she existed. He anticipated his wife’s cravings with almost terrifying accuracy, he knew what every cry meant and the quickest way to fix it, and no-one could get a baby to sleep faster than he could Emily. She was her daddy’s pride and joy. Seeing him like this, devastated and unable to console his terrified baby, broke her heart.
She wrapped her arms around him and let him sob into her shoulder, shushing him gently. “They’re fine, Niles. I know they are.”
“What the devil are you doing?” Maxwell turned to see CC fighting with the backseat.
“I’m trying,” yank, “to get,” yank, “into,” yank, “the trunk!” The back seat finally gave and lowered, allowing her to reach into the trunk and begin rummaging.
“Dare I ask why?”
“You forget that this is my car. Well, actually, it’s Niles' car. But I’m the one with the money. You think I don’t make sure I have emergency supplies stashed all over this thing? With a one year old to cart about?” She finally found what she was looking for and triumphantly pulled out a mid size box and two blankets. “Ah-ha! I knew it. I knew this wasn’t a stupid idea!”
Max gave her a look. “… it was Niles’ idea wasn’t it?”
“What’s his is mine. He was stupid enough to marry me, that’s his problem.” She dismissed with a wave of her hand, and threw a blanket into the front beside father and daughter. “I also have bottles of water and various chocolate bars.” She held up three randomly selected bars and let them pick.
“I love Niles.” Grace said gratefully, unwrapping the Twix and taking a bite out of both fingers simultaneously.
Max grimaced at her. “Then never let him see you do that under any circumstances. Good lord, you were raised better than that!”
“Shut up and eat the damn Snickers, Max.” CC said through a mouthful of her own prize, an Almond Joy.
“So what did you and Niles get Emily for her birthday?” Grace asked, trying to change the subject.
“She’s getting a lot of things, but mainly a rocking horse.” CC propped herself up with her arms between the two front seats, blanket draped over her shoulders like a cape. “It’s a little big for her just now, but she’ll be able to use it with someone holding her. Plus she can grow into it.”
“Wow, that’s pretty cool.”
“Yeah. Plus Noel and my father are planning to visit over the weekend, so god knows what those two are bringing.” She groaned. “We need to get round to buying an actual house. I can’t move for all the stuff that kid has. I thought I lost Chester the other day, but it turned out she just thought he was a stuffed toy and fell asleep with him.”
“He just let her?” Max raised an eyebrow. He’d been the victim of Chester’s moods more than once in his life.
“That dog loves exactly 3 people - your wife, my husband, and my daughter. He tolerates everyone else - barely.”
“You know… you three could just… move into the mans-”
“Niles is not your butler anymore, Max. He very kindly helps out because I work there and doing so means I get to see my family throughout the day.”
“I wasn’t suggesting otherwise!” He threw his hands up in defiance.
“You are a filthy chancer, Maxwell Sheffield.”
“You guys should look at the place down the road though. I think they put a ‘For Sale’ sign up the other day.” Grace offered.
CC gave her a small smile. “We’ll think about it.”
They were trapped in that car for a total of 8 hours. Between the 4 hours they’d already driven out there, the time it took to get the car on the recovery vehicle, and the 4 hours home, they’d been away for close to 20 hours.
Less than a day, and yet it felt like they hadn’t seen the mansion in years.
CC was first out of the rescue van, running to the Sheffield front door. Fran was sat outside, and reached out an arm for her when she got close. She didn’t need to ask.
“They’re in your room.” Fran said, giving her arm a quick squeeze in greeting, before moving aside to let her in.
She took the stairs two at a time, and stopped short at the bedroom door. Slowly, she edged it open and peeked inside. Niles was lying face down on the bed, fast asleep with his arm held out towards Emily’s crib. She was also fast asleep, arm poking through the bars to grip onto her fathers index finger.
She could have cried with the amount of love she felt for them in that moment.
She moved carefully inside, trying not to wake them, but Emily stirred at the rustling sound of her moving about.
“Hi sweetheart.” She reached in and picked up the little girl, still incredibly sleepy. “I missed you so much.”
She looked at her mother with bleary eyes, dropped her head to her chest under her mothers chin, and promptly fell right back asleep. CC chuckled, and placed her gently back down. She took a seat on the bed next to her husband and started stoking his hair. He too stirred, looking up at her with the same bleary expression she’d just seen on their daughter, and couldn’t help the grin that spread over her face.
“Hey.”
“CC?” His voice was still groggy.
“Wow you must have been worried. You never call me that.” She was about to laugh until he practically launched himself at her, hugging her as tightly as he possibly could. She rubbed his back soothingly. “Told you I’d make it back.”
“Never doubted you for a second, love.” He pulled back and grinned at her.
“Sure you didn’t.” She took his face in her hand, her expression suddenly serious. “I promise I will never again make fun of you for putting emergency supplies in the car. On an unrelated note, your chocolate supply needs topping up.”
He laughed hard, but kept it as quiet as possible to let the baby sleep. “Devil woman; mocking me then using my precious resources.”
“Yeah, yeah. Now scoot over, Butler Boy.”
He complied and she lay on top of the covers next to him, content to be the big spoon for the time being.
“Beat your record.” She murmured into his ear.
“Hmm?”
“Got her to sleep in 10 seconds flat.”
“Don’t think it counts when she’s already technically asleep, Babs.”
“To hell with you, I’m counting it.”
He chuckled, then took the hand she had draped over him and pressed a long soft kiss to her palm. “Missed you, baby.”
“And you, Butler Boy.”