Hello, Hello!:) Final chapter for BT is ready...and with that I'm now officially on writing leave. lol Although...someone requested a story...and my mind has already been busy. Technically my plan is to stop writing till at least the 9th January...but we'll see how that goes ;) lol Leave me some feedback, please! I hope you've all had a good Christmas and wish you a good start in the New Year!:) You've all been fantastic and I love,love,loveeee this category!

Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine...I am only the proud owner of an e-mail from Lauren Lane!:D

Chapter 10: Attention

C.C. lay in bed that night constantly thinking about her father's words. She remembered her feelings very well, that strong burst of hope that Niles might feel the same, the excitement shortly before he had kissed her. It wasn't as if they had been erased all of a sudden, more that C.C. had made a conscious effort not to consider them. But now, surrounded by the calming darkness they rose to the surface and she was unable to suppress them any longer. She remembered his sweet and caring way, his nervous fidgeting on the day when he had informed her that they had been quite mean to each other. He had been trying to tell her the truth...but she hadn't wanted to listen. And now with all her memories intact she wished to return to the way they had been back then. She missed the readiness with which she had embraced that man...without suspicions, solely relying on her feelings. But now she remembered...his insulting words, his pranks, his hurtful comments and it was hard to believe that this was the same sweet man. It was all too easy to picture the smirk on his lips and the deep sarcasm of his tone. Nonetheless, while her head doubted and worried, her emotions betrayed her still.

The next morning, after another check-up, she was packing her things and getting ready, waiting for her father's arrival. He was to take her to the police station first to support her while she tried to identify the suspect, now that she had regained her memory; before he would drive her to her penthouse. A knock on the door sounded and C.C. momentarily stopped her actions and looked at the door expectantly. When it didn't open, she impatiently called:

"It's alright, you can come in!"

Expecting her father she was surprised to see the soft brown eyes and grey streak of one Maxwell Sheffield.

"C.C.," he respectfully greeted her, almost as if waiting for her to start berating him.

"Maxwell, how nice of you to drop by." she said in a tone so aloof it rivalled her mother's.

"I just came to check on you," he continued but when she narrowed her eyes at him he averted his gaze and shuffled his feet nervously.

"Did Niles sent you?" she finally asked.

"Not...exactly. He came here quite often but your father advised him to stay away. Said that every time the topic was approached, you'd fly into a rage."

"And yet here you are." C.C. said with a voice like steal.

"Yes, I am only trying to help and Fran said that maybe you'd listen to me."

"Ah yes, almost forgot that Nanny Fine and you are an item now," C.C. commented condescendingly.

"See, this is exactly what I came to talk to you about. You gained your memory back 2 days ago and already you're behaving like your old self. Do you remember what it was like earlier on? How well you and Fran got along, how nicely you treated her despite your differences?"

"Yes, chalk it down to momentary insanity." C.C. said, turning around so that Max couldn't see her.

"I don't believe you for one minute," he softly said "I think you enjoyed having a girlfriend to confide in. And you were worried sick when she got attacked. C.C., Niles loves you, he has been doting on you when you got together, he stood up to your mother because he loves you."

"Yet he lied to me," she inserted, continuing to pack her bag.

"You didn't see this, but we all did. When you first started flirting with him he pulled away, because he was afraid that he only developed feelings for you because of his need to protect you and the bond that had been formed after your attack. He was scared to hurt you in any way or to take advantage of you. But he's only human and eventually he caved because he decided to believe in you. Decided that, despite everything that's happened between you, the positive would outweigh the bad and you would forgive him and just follow your heart. And it upsets all of us to see that evidently he has been mistaken."

Throughout his speech C.C. had her back turned to him, pretending to work, but her hands had long since stopped moving as tears pooled in her eyes. She had missed Niles, especially at night, the comfort of his arms was certainly lacking. When she finally noticed that Max had stopped talking she straightened her back and turned around, all evidence of emotions banned from her eyes.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but the Bitch of Broadway is back."

Maxwell had left soon after and C.C. was quite glad to be left to her own devices again. She didn't need his pity or his disappointment. But what she really didn't want to hear was the truth in his words. It had been nice to have Fran on her side, to be on the happy group that was the producer, the nanny and the butler. Yes, Fran and she were certainly different but it had felt good to have a girlfriend, someone she could at least trust more than all the harpies she usually socialised with. The flashy girl from Flushing might not have her breeding or her class, but she definitely had a big heart and caring nature. And with her and Maxwell together maybe their friendship could continue...if only C.C. allowed it to. But somewhere in the back of mind sat that persistent voice that told her to be careful. Maybe Nanny Fine had simply viewed her as a charity case, and C.C. didn't like kindness out of pity. As a matter of fact, if anything pointed in that direction at all, she withdrew. She was a strong, independent woman and would rather live on her own than be treated like that. Or at least that was the rule that generally applied, but with Niles...It had been very different because she had felt safe from the beginning, crazy though this sounded now that she remembered everything he had done to her in the past. But maybe it was because of that, because she knew that he accepted her for who she was. That he would be there to hold her if necessary, but that he'd never force her into it. He would simply wait until she was ready...just as he was doing now. She had been so lost in thoughts that her father had not only cleared his throat twice to get her attention, but also pointed out several times that they had arrived at the police station. C.C. gave him an apologetic smile and sighed, suddenly nervous again. She ignored the thought that she would've felt safer with Niles by her side and instead told herself to be strong. She wouldn't allow this low-life who had attacked Fran to see her nervousness.

"Hello, Miss Babcock. I'm very glad to hear that you regained your memory." Marc, Fran's friend from the police department greeted her happily.

"I'm not here to make small-talk, I'm here to get this guy behind bars, where he belongs." she told him candidly and rolled her eyes when her father warmly shook Marc's hand.

The officer gestured for them to follow him down a corridor that led into a room from which they could observe a man in another room. It took C.C. mere seconds to realise whom she was looking at.

"Have you met this man at all?" Marc asked.

"Yes, he backed quite a number of our plays. Was always very nice, awfully chatty though."

"Well, he's the man we arrested after he had attacked Fran."

C.C. scrunched her eyebrows in confusion, before softly asking: "Can I talk to him?"

Marc opened his mouth, about to deny her request, when C.C. only gave him one firm glare and he wavered. She marched past him and out of the room, trying to find the door that led to the other.

"Just be careful, kitten." Her father said and she gave him a shrug.

"Mr. Abbots," she greeted the man, alone with him, only a table separating them.

He didn't reply but nearly stared at her.

"I want to know why you attacked Fran Fine," she demanded, arms crossed in front of her chest.

"Because she found out that I had attacked you." he said evenly and C.C. knew that Marc was about to burst into the room after that confession.

"Why did you wait for me in the theatre and hit me? What compelled you to do such a stupid thing?"

"Because I tried to get your attention any other way, but you wouldn't see me. When I talked to you, you'd cut me off. Even when I invested sums and sums of money you would merely thank me. All the flowers and the presents and you never looked my way! And then I noticed how you treated everyone else and I realised that you don't have a heart. You don't know compassion, you don't know love, you are even incapable of realising when someone truly cares for you. But I got your attention now so I want to tell you that you are all alone and always will be!"

C.C. silently stared at the man while Marc flew into the room to officially arrest him, while her dad moved to stand by her side, placing a hand on her shoulder. Throughout all of that she never broke the eye contact with the backer whose words had found her well-protected heart. Had she really been so cruel, so ignorant with everyone in the vicinity? Then it really wasn't surprising that Fran had warmed to her the minute she had behaved differently. And Niles...

"I want the man locked up for what he did to me and Fran." she icily said, none of it betraying how hurt and confused she truly was on the inside.

She then whirled around so swiftly and walked away that her father had trouble keeping up with her.

"I heard what he said to you. Are you alright?"

"Yes, I'm fine, daddy." she said curtly and kept walking.

Stuart by now was jogging aside her.

"Kitten, he shouldn't have said it. He's a very sick man and I don't want you to get upset."

"I am not," she repeated, walking with a purpose "there's just somewhere I have to be."

Stuart snapped his mouth shut, afraid that he might shake her resolve if he said anything. He didn't know what C.C. wanted to do, but it certainly seemed of great importance.

When they were sitting in the car he noticed from the corner of his eyes that she kept staring out of the window, apparently miles away, but her fingers were nervously strumming against her thighs, indicating how nervous or impatient she was feeling. The heavy New York traffic wasn't helping their progress either and Stuart felt himself growing nervous too, apparently sympathising with his daughter.

"Drop me off at the Sheffield residence." she quietly said when they were reaching the Park Avenue environment.

A smile blossomed on his face but he tried to hide it from her, certain that she wouldn't react well to it. But he knew now where she was going...or rather, who she was going to see. When they finally pulled up in front of the house Stuart did something very uncharacteristic and hugged his daughter.

"I love you kitten," he told her quietly and his heart broke a little at the shy and almost uncertain way in which C.C. responded.

"I'll call you and... thank you." she told him hesitantly and then left the car.

With the safety her father provided gone, she squared her shoulders and marched to the front door. To her relief it was Niles who answered straight away and his eyes widened when he saw that it was her.

"Miss Babcock," he greeted formally.

C.C. nervously wiped her hands on her skirt and walked past him and into the empty den.

"You are a pathetic coward, Niles Brightmore." she told him firmly and watched as he seemed to shrink before her eyes.

"I tried to tell you," he began.

"Knock it off! You've mentioned it before and if we start discussing this again we'll waste another 10 years."

"I'm not sure I understand." Niles mumbled.

"Not the quick-witted man anymore, Butler Boy?" she asked, approaching him slowly.

"Well, when you took that little stumble and hit your head I couldn't really fight with anyone." he said, a little harshly.

"Watch it," she whispered, her voice low as she placed her hands on his chest.

"What are you doing?" he softly asked, his surprise not stopping him from twirling a strand of her hair around his finger.

"I have a heart." she said, almost as if to herself.

"I know you do." he warmly said, carefully resting his forehead against hers.

"And I want you to know that you have my attention." she continued, tenderly caressing his cheek.

"So all these years of calling you a witch finally paid off?" he teased and couldn't help but smile when she pulled away to glare at him.

"You weren't all too subtle." she commented dryly and he chuckled.

Slowly, waiting for her response, he snaked his arms around her and pulled her in for a kiss, completely content with the familiar feel of her lips.