Hello,Hello!:) Here is my annoying little self again with my new project!;) As I mentioned at the end of "20 years" this one was inspired by NilesLover101, I hope I'll make ya happy!:D And actually, I won't give more away, so you'll just have to bear with me!*hehe* All I'll say is that it is set at the end of season 6 and they're just moving to California. What else? The title of this story comes from a wonderful poem by Rilke that I love. And yeah, the poem here now is from Theodore Roethke. Anyways, I hope you'll enjoy reading this and please,please,pleeaaassee review and let me know if this is complete crap or what I can change etc.!

Disclaimer: I don't own anything and sadly, none of the characters are mine. If they were, things would definitely be more about Niles and C.C.!

Chapter 1:

I knew a woman, lovely in her bones,
When small birds sighed, she would sigh back at them;
Ah, when she moved, she moved more ways than one:
The shapes a bright container can contain!
Of her choice virtues only gods should speak,
Or English poets who grew up on Greek
I'd have them sing in chorus, cheek to cheek.

How well her wishes went! She stroked my chin,
She taught me Turn, and Counter-turn, and stand;
She taught me Touch, that undulant white skin:
I nibbled meekly from her proffered hand;
She was the sickle; I, poor I, the rake,
Coming behind her for her pretty sake
But what prodigious mowing did we make.

Love likes a gander, and adores a goose:
Her full lips pursed, the errant note to seize;
She played it quick, she played it light and loose;
My eyes, they dazzled at her flowing knees;
Her several parts could keep a pure repose,
Or one hip quiver with a mobile nose
She moved in circles, and those circles moved.

Let seed be grass, and grass turn into hay:
I'm martyr to a motion not my own;
What's freedom for? To know eternity.
I swear she cast a shadow white as stone.
But who would count eternity in days?
These old bones live to learn her wanton ways:
I measure time by how a body sways.

Theodore Roethke

"Niles, please don't!" C.C. whispered, her utterance in stark contrast to the movements of her hands which drew him closer.

"Oh, you infernal temptress," he growled back, his lips hungrily exploring her neck.

They had gotten married over a week ago and he would have blamed his strong desire on that fact, had it not been for the knowledge that they had been carrying on like this for several months now. It seemed to Niles that he still hadn't quite fathomed the fact that this beautiful creature was his wife and carrying his child. Their luggage stood by the door, side by side, but a couple of hours before his closet had contained more female items of clothing, for C.C. had started to spend more and more time at his place. This particular development had come as quite a surprise to both of them. After C.C.'s snide remarks, Niles had never thought she'd voluntarily spent more than a night in his room and C.C., being the proud woman that she was, felt decidedly scared by her sudden longing for this man, a longing so strong being separated from him seemed unbearable. She had rationalized this by telling herself that they hadn't actually moved in together and that she could always retreat to the safety and solitude of her penthouse when necessary.

"They're waiting for us," she tried again, simultaneously turning her head to the left, giving his lips more space to devour her.

"It's your fault, witch." he teased her, his hands swiftly unbuttoning her blouse "You insisted on changing your clothes."

He remembered how she had slipped out of her top, every movement excruciatingly slowly. He had reveled in her beauty for several seconds, the firmness of her stomach, the softness of her skin. But he had soon found that he couldn't stand to watch, he had to touch her, taste her, make her understand again how sensual she was.

"I have to look presentable." she defended herself.

"You never do," he said, giving her his best boyish grin, before trailing kisses down the valley between her breasts.

"Shut up, servant." she demanded, her eyes closed.

"So as long as I serve you you're happy, but I'm not allowed to talk?" he asked, drawing away from her to shoot her a playfully angry glance.

She blinked and focused her attention on her husband's deep-blue eyes.

"You got that right, Butler Boy."

"What compelled me to marry you?" he asked, before continuing his assault on her breasts.

"Love?" she suggested.

"I was thinking more along the lines of pity." he retorted, moving her bra to tenderly suck on her nipple.

"Niles, I swear if what you are doing wouldn't be so damn…" she moaned loudly "good…I'd…"

"But it is, Babs, it is." he said, winking at her.

"Be careful, Bellboy, two can play that game, I could get you to beg if I wanted to."

"Keep dreaming, baby." he whispered, capturing her lips in a searing kiss.

"Niles, we are going to miss the flight!" his employer's voice could now clearly be heard from downstairs.

For a minute he considered just to ignore it, but then he conceded with a sigh.

"Looks like we have to go, lover." C.C. said and the hint of sadness returned to her eyes, which he had noticed there before they had gotten tangled in their passion.

He wiped the traces of lipstick from his face, while she busied herself buttoning up her blouse again. Opening the door he held out his hand to her and as she moved into his arms, they shared one last look around his old room.

"California will be nice," he tried but C.C. only responded with a half-hearted shrug.

He waited until she was ready to walk out of the room, then he picked up their luggage and followed suit. The Sheffield house seemed cold and bare somehow, devoid as it was of all pictures and souvenirs. If he was honest with himself he viewed this move to California with as much reluctance as C.C. did. It seemed a shame to leave that wonderful house behind, a building that contained so many memories. For a moment as he walked through the corridor he could see himself again on his first day, he could vividly picture C.C. and how she had looked when he first laid eyes on her. It had been the home of the Sheffields, a family that was like his own. But California seemed wrong on so many other levels as well, it just didn't seem like Maxwell to leave Broadway behind in favour of a sitcom. And as well as Niles knew his wife, he could tell that she too, shared that view. She had always been filled with a love for the theatre and while a sitcom certainly held similar elements, it would never be the same. But he had no doubt that she would still be incredibly successful and maybe the Bitch of Broadway would turn into the Bitch of Hollywood soon. He suddenly noticed that he had come to a standstill while reminiscing and finally leaving the corridor behind, he found C.C. waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs.

"Getting old, are we, Butler Boy?" she mocked lightly.

"Spending all this time with Satan's right hand sapped all my energy… you might have even sucked it out of me." he shot back, setting the luggage down next to them.

"Maybe I should refrain from sucking then." she teased, grinning at him.

"Don't you dare." he whispered, drawing her against him once more.

"Oy, I'm so glad the two of you will live in a different house. I mean, just imagine if Max and I woulda carried on like that." Fran scolded slightly, interrupting them before they could get lost in each other once more.

Once she was out of sight they exchanged a knowing glance and then, heaving a deep sigh Niles picked up the luggage once more and followed his wife outside. He silently carried it to the car and lifted it into the trunk. Afterwards he joined the Sheffields and C.C. who stood leaning against the limo, wistfully looking at the beautiful building.

"It's a good house." Fran voiced what everyone was thinking.

Niles could tell by the soft uneasiness of his wife's movements that she found such sentimentality difficult to bear and nudged her in the ribs to follow him inside the car. Everyone else seemed to get the message as they soon joined them.

"I can't wait to get to California;" Gracie began the first bit of conversation as they were on their way to the airport "I'll set up the computer right away and check if Brighton's e-mailed me."

"Awww, isn't it adorable how close they've gotten?" Fran asked C.C. who only shrugged.

Niles watched how her eyes then moved to linger on the babies, who were sleeping quietly in the safety of their father's arms. He knew despite her comment that it hadn't been marriage or her pregnancy that had softened her; he'd been with her long enough to see that she was actually very soft. True, she wasn't someone who enjoyed grand gestures, but she had always been fond of the children and longed for security and warmth. But having observed her for such a long time he was also aware that it would be futile to point this out to her, for she'd deny everything.

Once inside the aircraft C.C. seemed to cheer up a little. The finality of their departure to a different state had sunk in and being the pragmatic type, she had decided to view it as a new challenge, rather than as a loss of the old. They were sitting in the large, comfortable seats the first class had to offer, right behind Maxwell and Fran who were busy looking over contracts and watching "Yentl", respectively.

"At least when she's watching Barbra she's quiet." C.C. whispered to Niles who grinned.

"And it took you this long to realize that? My my, Babs, you are slower than I thought."

"Can it, Bellboy." she snapped.

"I bet you are going to develop a very cute pregnancy waddle once you put on a few pounds. Although with the ones you still have-" he suddenly stopped, noticing the look she was giving him "I'm sorry, babe."

"You will be," she said smiling sweetly in a way that one could only interpret as a threat "I had such lovely plans for us."

"Like what?" he asked, his interest peaked.

"Shame, had you watched your tongue you would've found out." she said, sliding her hand underneath the blanket that was covering his lap.

"You've never complained about my tongue before." he replied, a mischievous smile tugging at the corner of his mouth.

"Gotta toss you a bone once in a while." C.C. said, continuing to massage him.

"You are aware that there are children on board?" he asked, trying not to groan aloud.

"Yes, lover," she whispered into his ear, allowing her lips to touch it "and that's exactly why you won't be getting any."

She grinned at his shocked face, knowing very well from their previous adventures that Niles shared her passion for intimate encounters with a possibility of getting caught. Meanwhile in the seats in front of them, Maxwell leaned to his wife:

"Fran, could I possibly use one of your headphones?"

"Sure, sweety, why? I thought ya refused ta see "Yentl" for the fifth time?"

"Niles and C.C. are having a… conversation I'd rather not hear." he explained, blushing slightly.

"Again?" Fran asked "My God, Miss Babcock sure keeps her randy side hidden very well, who woulda thought?"

"Please, darling, I'd rather not think about it." Maxwell tried again, pulling a face.

"You better start thinking about it soon, mistah, you've given me less and less attention lately."

Maxwell sighed resignedly, wishing he had just concentrated on his work without interrupting Fran.

California came with an instant change in temperature. Fran pointed out the lovely sunshine on the way to their limo, while C.C. sighed and moaned about the heat. When Gracie asked her why she didn't like the warmth, Niles and C.C. both answered simultaneously.

"The Ice Queen melts of course." And "Because I'll have to see him running around shirtless."

Grace only grinned to herself, secretly thrilled at the special relationship the butler and the business woman seemed to have. On the way to their new home, Jonah and Eve finally perked up and began to cry loudly and so it was that everyone happily scrambled out of the car, once they pulled up in front of a big, beautiful mansion.

"Wow, this house is huge!" Fran exclaimed and it wasn't an understatement.

They had just driven past the gorgeous wrought iron gate and were now parked in a little roundabout facing the main entrance of the house. It was a two story residence made out of concrete block clad with cedar shingles and rock stone columns and had a hand crafted stained glass door. While the Sheffields filed through the front door, Niles, carrying the luggage, gestured for C.C. to follow him down a different path. It led to the right of the main building and through another smaller gate. C.C. gasped when she first caught sight of the little white cottage, with its wooden veranda and large windows.

"Do you like it?" Niles asked who had set their suitcases down and was stretching his arms.

"And that's just for the two of us?" she breathed, walking towards him.

"What, a Babcock complaining about something being too big?" he grinned, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"I've never complained about size before." she whispered teasingly and gave him a quick kiss.

"But yes, it's big…I chose this deliberately, should I get to sick of you." he quipped, winking at her.

C.C. slapped his arm, while absent-mindedly saying: "And Maxwell's house is even bigger…"

"Well, yes, half the Jewish population will come to live with him."

C.C. nodded and headed up the small steps, extracting the key from her purse that Niles had given her. To her surprise most of the house was already decorated. The living room stole her breath once more as it contained a soft Persian rug, a white couch and a natural stone fire place.

"My favourite part is the kitchen." Niles suddenly exclaimed and she followed his voice into the next room.

"So it should be, this is huge, looks like a proper gourmet kitchen."

"And I was gonna say because there's so much space on the counter." he said, wiggling his eyebrows.

Seeing that his wife only rolled her eyes, he led her into the master bedroom. The walls were kept in an ochre colour and light came flooding in from the large window. She smiled at the simplicity of the double bed, for it was completely and utterly Niles, and everything she'd ever hoped for. While he unpacked she went for a walk around the rest of the house and was relieved to find that not all rooms had been decorated, for example the office could still be designed and there was a completely empty room that she immediately considered as the nursery. After she had seen the rest of the house, she exited through the back door and followed the path that led to a gigantic pool. She had just taken off her shoes to dangle her feet into the water, when she was joined by Fran.

"How do ya like it so far?" she asked, squinting against the sun light.

"It's beautiful." C.C. said softly, a gentle smile playing on her lips.

"And ya sure don't mind that our house is bigger than yours?"

"Nanny Fine," C.C. said, taking on her old patronizing tone once more "I couldn't care less about the size of your house. Because right now in mine there is Niles, planning all sorts of things in the new kitchen and soon it will be filled with the sound of the pitter patter of tiny feet."

"Who are you and what have you done with Miss Babcock?" Fran asked, letting out her honking laugh, but before she could say anything else, Grace appeared outside.

"Dad says he needs your help changing Jonah and Eve."

"Oy, this man…never heard about multitasking. Ya sure lucky to have Niles."

C.C. sighed and watched the reflection of the sun glistening in the water. She tried to shake the melancholy that had suddenly taken hold of her and walked back to the house. It wasn't that she didn't value Niles; she just hoped she wouldn't turn out to be as dreadful a mother as her own was. She found him standing by the window, apparently lost in thoughts.

"Hello, lover." she whispered, wrapping her arms around him.

He smiled upon the contact and turned around in her arms. Standing there in front of him without any shoes on, she was a couple of inches smaller and he could tell instantly by the look in her eyes that something was troubling her.

"Are you happy?" he asked, his deep-blue eyes mirroring the intensity of his feelings.

She nodded vaguely and rested her head on his shoulder.

"Can I do anything to make it better?" he whispered, placing a tender kiss on her temple.

She hesitated for a moment, before pulling back and replying with a grin: "You could whip us something up and maybe once you're done, we could christen that counter you mentioned."