Author's note:  These characters are all the property of Fran Drescher, Peter Marc Jacobsen, CBS, and High School Sweethearts.  No copyright infringement is intended.  In addition, to write this story, which takes place during the teenage years of the four main characters, I had to take quite a bit of literary license with the ages and family backgrounds of Niles, CC, Fran, and Max as well as established "Nanny" history.  This is just meant to be a sort of  "What if it could have happened this way?" piece.

Camp Kindervelt

by

Aimee
(aimeed@earthlink.net)

The taxi rolled to a stop before the main cabin of Camp Kindervelt.  Niles, who had been entrusted with all the money and important documents for the transatlantic journey because Maxwell was a total space cadet, paid the driver and dismissed him.

Max was already breathing the fresh, pine-scented Canadian air.  "God, I love nature," he said dreamily.

"I just bet, especially if it's in a bikini  And you'd better remember that we're equals on this trip.  I'm not here to be your servant, just to make sure you don't get yourself killed by a bear."

"Grouchy bastard.  You're just jet lagged.  Come on, let's get registered."

At seventeen, Niles and Max were in the oldest group of campers, and so both ended up in the same cabin.  They high-fived each other with a sense of relief.  No matter how much they quarreled, the two were like brothers and would have been miserable if they were separated.

The headmistress of Camp Kindervelt winked at them.  "Every year there are a pair of mischief-makers that never stay out of trouble," Judy told them.  "I bet I know who it's going to be this year."  Max and Niles just looked at her innocently.

She laughed.  "Cabin 14.  Last one down on the left.  Incidentally, the girls' Senior group is in Cabin 13, and any man who gets it 'mixed up' will be attending all activities in a dress for the rest of the day."

"She never said anything about the other girls' cabins," Niles whispered as they left to find their summer home.

The two British boys dropped their gear in their cabin and decided to go exploring.  They headed back toward the main gates.

The last few stragglers were just arriving.  A much-abused green station wagon disgorged so many people shouting so loudly, it looked like clowns coming out of a funny car at the circus.  There was a man with an obvious toupee who was the only silent member of the group.  There was a woman with bright blond hair and about a pound of makeup, and an older woman with coke-bottle glasses.  There were others, but the one they noticed was the girl.

Max's jaw dropped, and Niles' wasn't far behind.  She was dressed in a red plaid halter-top that showed her midriff, and barely there denim cutoffs.  She had a wealth of curly dark hair, and legs that went on for days.  She was just about the most gorgeous thing they'd ever seen.

Then they heard her voice.  "Ma," she wailed in a high-pitched, nasal whine that nearly shattered Max's eyeglasses.  "Why do I have to come here?  Why isn't Val here?"

"You know Val gets hives, Frannie!"

"Ow!  So do I!  Oy, Ma, I itch so bad!"

Niles burst out laughing.  Frannie heard and looked over her shoulder.  Seeing the two young men there, she winked, and bent over deliberately to pick up her suitcase, which she then handed to her father so she could walk over to them.

"Hi," she said.  "I'm Fran Fine, and I really don't know those people.  They hijacked my car when I was driving here."

They all laughed, and Max introduced himself and Niles.  "Where ya from?  You talk like Rex Harrison."

"England," said Max.  "And you?  Your voice is, um, very distinctive."

"Queens," she answered, popping her gum.

"Actually, there's just one of them," Max said, a little confused.

"No, silly," she said, hitting his arm.  "Not that queen!  Queens!  It's in New York."

"We grew up in the old York," Niles told her.  He was just about to follow it up with another witty, girl-getting remark (after all, he had to set a manly example for Max, who was six months younger) when he heard his best friend give a low whistle.

A long, black limousine had pulled up.  A chauffeur got out of the front and a chubby, dark-haired woman got out of the passenger side, standing at attention as the chauffeur opened the door.

Niles was thrown for a loop.  One long, pale leg exited the car, then another, then his stomach dropped and he developed a very embarrassing condition.  He held his suitcase in front of him.

The legs were attached to beautifully rounded hips, which narrowed to a small waist, and just above that -- Niles gulped and raised his eyes to her face.  Shit, she was gorgeous.  She had a wide pink mouth, a tiny nose, and huge tip-tilted blue eyes.  Her golden hair fell almost to her waist.  He was reminded of an adorable kitten who was halfway grown into a dangerously beautiful jungle cat.

"Who the hell is that?" demanded Fran, in a low voice.  Niles shook his head silently.

The girl started to issue orders, apparently unaware of the attention her flashy entrance had received.  "Nanny, let's go get me registered.  George, the bags."
 
"Jeff," he said.

"CC, perhaps a lower profile?  We are not among New York Society here."

"What do you want to do, pretend you're my mother?"

"God forbid."

"Oh, I forgot, you get paid to pretend you're my mother."

Nanny slapped her lightly.  CC's eyes narrowed.

Max looked at Niles, who smiled back conspirationally.  The two prettiest girls in camp were about to experience the British invasion.
 

CC huddled on the top bunk of her bed, watching what went on below.  Several of the others, evidently returning campers, were trading candy and gum and romance comics.

Nanny had told her she had to try to be friendly if she was going to have any fun.

She walked up to them and dropped a pile of her own best comics on the floor.  "Hey, anybody got any jujubes they'd like to trade for these?"

One of them eyed her.  "Jujubes?  What, is that what you stuff your bra with?"

CC grabbed her comics and walked away.  She'd figure out how to get revenge later.

"What, we were only joking," one of them called.  CC simply shrugged her shoulder at them and hoisted herself onto the top bunk she'd claimed for herself.

"Wow, they were harsh," said the most horrendous voice CC had ever heard in her life.  A pretty, dark-haired, under-dressed girl poked her head over CC's bunk.

"Hey, I'll trade you your comics for getting to sleep top bunk every other night."

CC arched one blond eyebrow.  "You mean, you get my comics and my bed half the time?  How stupid do I look?"

Fran laughed like a foghorn.  "Hey, you're good.  Usually nobody catches that until after they've spat and shook hands on it.  I'm Fran Fine."

"CC Babcock."

"Any relation to BB Babcock, the socialite?"

"Her daughter, presumably," said CC dryly.

Fran sighed dreamily.  "I knew it!  You look so much like her.  I read the society pages almost as often as I read the movie mags."

"I do not look like that bitch!"  CC said angrily.  "If there weren't witnesses to the event, I wouldn't even believe I actually came out from between her legs!"

Fran was deeply shocked.  The depth of bitterness in CC's voice was like nothing she'd ever heard.  She'd have gotten her bottom beat if she'd talked like that, especially about Ma.

"Hey, sorry, didn't realize it was a sore point.  So are you going to the campfire?"

"Do we have a choice?"

"Technically no, but hey, no parents, no rules, right?"  Fran spat on her hand and stuck it out.

CC looked at it in disgust, but she shook it.  This loser might actually be useful.
 

They decided to go to the campfire simply because they had no better ideas.  Fran had, however, promised to help CC "get" their cabin mates.

"Probably be the most fun I have this month," said CC.  "They'll learn not to mess with CC Babcock."  At Fran's outraged glare, she added hastily, "And Fran Fine."

The Queen of Queens and the Princess of Park Avenue scanned the crown for a good place to sit.  Fran was loaded down with two hot dogs, four brownies, and a dish of fries.

CC was already nearly finished with her half a hot dog and two bites of brownie.  "How do you stay so thin?" she demanded, feeling guilty about the two bites of brownie.

"Hey, there are those two guys from today!" Fran said with excitement, waving her hand.  "I dunno, it just happens that way."

"That's disgusting.  What guys?"

"Max and Niles, these adorable British guys I met earlier, and let me tell you, Max is a hottie!"  Fran stared pushing her way through the crowd to them.  "Niles is pretty fine too, and boy did he notice your arrival!"

Guys from England.  If they came that far just to attend camp, they must be pretty well off.  If they were gorgeous, too . . .

A flash of pain teased at CC's brain.  Why should she bother with a man's money?  Not to obey her rotten family, that was for sure.  And she didn't need the cash.  She was getting a twenty million dollar trust on her 18th birthday only a year and a half away.  CC Babcock wasn't going to enslave herself in marriage to some man she hated just because he was acceptable to Park Avenue.  She wouldn't be like her mother.  She'd do as she pleased.

It was in this mood that CC first laid eyes on the boys from Britain.

She didn't need an introduction to know who was who.  Max was the slender, dark one that Fran snuggled up to right away.  Niles was the stocky dark blond one who couldn't tear his dark blue eyes from her chest.

"Excuse me," she said tartly.  "Are those your eyeballs?  Because I found them in my bra."

He burst out laughing.  "Sorry.  You want to sit down?"  When she remained standing, arms folded and one eyebrow lifted, he said, "I never attack if it isn't a full moon.  I swear."

CC laughed and dropped onto the log bench by his side.  Niles was as good as his word.  He didn't make one move on her all night, despite his admiring looks.

Max was showing off his innate talent for burning the crap out of the marshmallows.  Fran claimed they were delicious.  Oh, well, not the first time she'd faked it for a boy.  Probably not the last.

Niles chuckled.  "You want one?" he asked.

CC shuddered.  "You want to see me swell up and turn into the Stay-Puft guy right here and now?"

"Not fair!  There is no good response for that," he complained.  Anyway, what did this babe have to worry about her weight for?

CC leaned over and chatted with Fran and Max until Niles had finished cooking and eating four marshmallows at once.  "You're gonna be a walking coronary one day," she warned.

"Will you be sorry?"

"No, but I'll send flowers just to be polite."  She was good.  All the while she was insulting him, she fixed him with a bold, bright smile that just dared him to challenge her.  He figured there were few guys their age who could.

Suddenly her smile drooped and she lowered her eyes, feeling shy.  They simply stared at each other, neither knowing what to say.

Just then a horrible din filled the night air, destroying their peace.  "Cumbayah, my lord," everyone was singing.

"What the hell," said Niles, "is a Cumbayah?"

"I dunno," said Fran with a high-pitched giggle.  "But it sounds like something Ma definitely wouldn't want me doing 'till I was married!"

"Too late, I'm guessing," Niles told her with a grin.  Fran laughed and hit his arm.

CC frowned and scooted away.  If they were both going to drool over that foghorn with legs . . .

Fran noticed, and realized she was spoiling CC's chances with the handsome Brit.  Or at least CC thought so.  Fran had seen the way Niles eyed her when she was turned away.  Fran decided to make her the center of attention to make her feel better.  "Hey," she said.  "We could use you guys's help."

They leaned their heads together, the two blond and two dark, and Fran whispered, "There are these evil chicks in our cabin who were really awful to CC earlier."  CC blushed.  "They gotta go down.  You guys in?"

Max frowned.  "I can't beat up a girl.  That's pathetic."

"We ain't gonna beat them up, we're gonna play pranks on them."

"Hey," said CC.  "Tomorrow we have an outing in to town to pick up supplies, right?"

"Yeah," said Fran.

"What say we make a run on the drugstore?"

"CC," said Fran.  "Do you really think you two have known each other long enough?"

"I'm not talking about that, airhead, though it does give me an idea!  I'm talking about a few basic supplies.  You know, depilatories -- "

"De-whats?"  Max said.

"Depilatories.  A special cream to make hair melt."

Fran stared at her in awed fascination.

"Maybe a little hair dye?" CC continued.

"I know a great brand of temporary color!" Fran said.

"Temporary?" CC said innocently.  "Fran, try to find out what shampoos they use tonight in the shower.  It'll be faster if we buy some and just switch the bottles."

Max was starting to get uncomfortable with the girl-ness of this conversation.  "That doesn't leave us much to do."

"Supervise the shower scene?" suggested Niles.  CC elbowed him.

"You guys have a special job," she said with an air of authority.  "Something no girl could do.  You gotta buy us some condoms."

Fran gasped.  "What for?"

"To plant in their suitcases before tomorrow's inspection, you moron. Cigarettes would be nice, too."

Niles gazed at her in undisguised admiration.  This girl was soooooooooo good!
 
 

Around three o'clock the next afternoon, the four conspirators met in the woods behind Cabin 13.  CC grinned.  "I always heard 13 was an unlucky number.  I just never knew I was the reason why!  Okay, I've got the hair dye and the shampoo.  Fran?"

"Nair," she said, holding up a bag.

"Niles?"

"Can I keep one?" he begged, offering her the condoms.

CC fastidiously refused to touch them.  "Max, what've you got for us to play with?"

Max sheepishly pulled out four decrepit-looking cigarettes.

Niles groaned.

Max got defensive.  "Well, they wouldn't sell me any, so I just bummed them from people on the street."

Fran pocketed the cigarettes.

"What's that?" Niles asked, pointing to a package of tiny black objects.

"Fake spiders from the toy aisle.  Gonna put 'em in Fran's and my beds, so it looks like we 'got got' too."

"Damn, you're good."

Fran glared at her.  "Were you gonna tell me about this?"

"Of course," said CC with wide eyes.

CC looked up at the boys.  "Go to your swimming lesson so nobody remembers you skipping any activities this afternoon.  Meet us back here in an hour."  They left, grateful for the reprieve, and the two girls got to work.

"Are you taking swimming this week, or next?" Fran asked her, expertly draining a bottle of depilatory into a bottle of shampoo.

CC shook up a mixture of hair dye and squirted it into a tube of deep conditioner.  "I'm not going swimming.  They don't have a pool.  I'm not swimming in a lake with fish and snakes."

The cabin was abandoned when they got there.  Needless to say, despite the fact that Cabin 13 had free time right now, no one was there.  They were all watching the senior boys' swimming lesson.

"Pathetic," said CC.  "Like we haven't got the best two all wrapped up."

"So, ya ever done it?" Fran asked her, stashing the cigarettes in two different suitcases.

"God, no.  I don't want to get pregnant."  CC was working on shampoo and conditioner.

"Yet you know what a condom is for."

"Doesn't everyone?  So, you done it?"

"Yeah, last summer.  On a kibbutz."

CC had no idea what a kibbutz was, but felt too embarrassed to ask.  "Do you think, uh, Niles has done it?"  CC blushed.

"Oh, yeah, he's a babe.  No way any woman in her right mind is lettin' him get away.  Including you."

CC grinned.  "Toss me the spiders."

"I'll do the spiders.  You collect their panties."

CC began rummaging through suitcases.  "Hey, want some jujubes?"

"Whose are they?"

"Hell if I know."

"For a girl your age, you have the foulest mouth."

"Fran, I grew up in New York.  I'm surprised you don't."

"With my voice, I need to make it worse by swearing all the time?"

"True."  CC gave Fran some jujubes and ate some herself.  "You gonna do it with Maxwell?"

"First chance I get," Fran told her, slipping a condom into her pocket.

"Good luck.  He's a shy one."

"But he's sooooooo dreamy," Fran sighed.

"I gotta give you that one.  If Niles wasn't around, I might have to give you some competition.  Uh-oh.  Let's go out the back."

Voices were coming from outside.  Fran and CC grabbed their contraband and dashed to the bathroom in the back.  CC boosted Fran up, then tossed her the bag.  Fran dropped it outside and disappeared.  CC then hoisted herself through the window.

Max and Niles were there in about fifteen minutes, hair still dripping wet.  "What have you got for us?" Niles asked.

"Souvenirs," answered CC.  "I want them all over camp by morning."  She passed the bag along to them.

Max turned beet red as he saw the feminine undergarments.  Niles picked out a pair of lacy pink bikinis.  "Very nice," he said.  Max snatched them away and stuffed them back in the bag.

"Pink's not your color," CC told him.

"And they're definitely not your size," he retorted.  She hit him on the chest.  To her utter surprise, he kissed her, quickly and firmly.  To her even greater surprise, she wanted more.

"We'll finish that later," he promised.

CC smiled nervously.  "Just see that those all end up somewhere public, not in your suitcase -- or on you."
 
 

CC screamed as she'd never screamed before.  Below her, Fran went into sobbing hysterics.  After "catching her breath," CC snapped, "Shut up, Fran, they're fake!  God, you're giving me a headache."

Fran's head popped up.  "The spiders, or your breasts?"

"I beg your pardon?"

"The fake things you were talking about."  Fran gave her a secret grin as CC hit her with a comic book.  Fran grabbed a pillow and whacked at CC.  CC grabbed her pillow, jumped down, and started whacking Fran.  Finally, they dropped, breathless and giggling, onto Fran's bed to await the fun.

Inspection started.  A counselor who was only presumably a female, Stacy by name, yelled out, "Everybody who's here stand by your beds.  Suitcases open, let's make this quick so we can all relax."

Since Fran and CC were first, they had to explain about the fake spiders.  "Throw them away," said Stacy.  "Other than that, you girls are fine.  Go take your showers."  Fran and CC deliberately dawdled.  Soon, the reward came.

"What the -- " Stacy squeaked.  "Andrea, Monique, get your butts to Judy's office and explain what these are doing in your suitcases!"  She brandished a handful of condoms.  Andrea and Monique began to shriek and cry as they complained that they didn't do it, literally.

On the way to the showers, Fran and CC high-fived each other.

They got back to their beds as soon as possible and pretended to read their schedules for the next day while they waited for the fun to continue.

Soon, one by one, screaming, crying girls ran out into the cabin.  A couple of them had big handfuls of hair coming loose. Others were trying to figure out how they became brunettes.  All were hysterical.

Fran and CC pretended to be shocked and horrified.  They covered their butts by helping to wash the dyed hair, merely adding another coat of dye.  CC, smiling sweetly, helped Fran, the aspiring beautician, give shag haircuts to the Nair victims so they'd at least be presentable the next day.

Still, a few ugly looks went their way, but CC had one more idea for allaying suspicion.

She went to lay her clothes out for the next day, and let out a scream of rage.  She held up a bra that looked more like a harness, except that it had been slashed and ripped beyond use.

Suspicion was drawn away from her, and Fran was too helpful and sympathetic to be suspected for long.  Soon, all the girls of cabin 13, including Fran and CC, were plotting to find out who did this to them

"Smart," Fran whispered later, after they'd finally turned out the lights.  "With the bra, I mean."

"It was an ugly bra anyway," CC whispered back.  "Bobo bought it for me."

"Bobo?"

"My nanny."

"Oh.  What about your ma?"  Fran waited a moment.  "CC?"  But CC seemed to have fallen asleep.
 
 

Several days of being confined to the cabins because of rain kept Fran and CC from seeing Niles and Maxwell except at meals.  The next time they got to talk for very long, it was the second week of camp and new activities were starting up.

All four of them signed up for theater in the mornings.  In the afternoons, Fran and Max went to arts and crafts, and CC was delighted to learn that Niles had chosen horseback riding, as she had.

Theater was quite the adventure.  Niles turned out to be a wonderful actor, and quickly took the lead in their self-written production.  Fran played opposite him, and Max and CC took minor roles and co-directed.  The script was more or less ad-libbed.  It was about a big monster with a hook (Niles) who preys upon a lovely camper (Fran) until he meets a female monster (CC) who was more to his liking.  Max had two minor lines as a rather stupid head counselor.  Then, the Niles-monster killed him.

CC sank down next to Max, pulling the rubber female-vampire mask from her head.  "This is so awful," she groaned.  "I really can't act."

"Neither can I.  Do you want to work in the theater?"

"No, I want to be in business.  I might be a stockbroker."

"There are businesspeople in theater, too.  Everybody isn't on stage.  I'm going to be a producer."  Max talked for a long time about his dream.  He seemed to be very into revivals.  CC found herself believing in every word he said.

"Your dream sounds great," she said.  "Much more interesting than mine."

"Give me a call when you've got your degree," he suggested.  "We'll hook up."

CC smiled.  "I'll think about it.  What's Niles going to do?  Will he act?"

Max suddenly turned red.  "Ah, no.  I don't know if I should really tell you this.  He wants to, but he can't.  He's decided to go into service like all his family before him."

CC's eyes strayed to the stage, where a growling Niles in a werewolf mask menaced Fran.  "Service?  You mean like a -- "

"Butler," Max confirmed.  "I think he was ready to say, oh, the hell with it, but my parents offered to put him through Eton and Oxford if he'd plan on becoming my butler."

CC was silent for a long time.  She'd never supposed a servant could be her friend, much less that she could see him as a potential boyfriend.  It just wasn't who she was.  She gave a cry of frustration, and Max looked strangely at her.  "He's so good," she said.  "It doesn't seem fair."  Why should Max's theater dream come true and Niles' not?

Max patted her hand.  "Hey, as my butler he'll be in the thick of things.  If something comes up that's right for him, he can take it.  He'll owe my parents big for the money they're giving him for school, but if he's really good and makes a lot of money, he can pay them back easily.  I can help him."

CC smiled gratefully at him.  It was still hard to come to terms with, though.  Part of her wanted to deny that a butler was her equal.  Part of her wanted to deny that someone as great as Niles, as smart, as handsome, could ever be a doddering old door opener for a living.  Years from now, when she slept on silk sheets in a penthouse apartment, would Niles rest uneasily in an attic somewhere?

CC was uncharacteristically free of wisecracks all during rehearsal and lunch.  She felt uncomfortable with Niles and angry with herself for being stupid and shallow.

She and Niles both had horseback riding that afternoon.  As they rode side by side, she felt her hesitation melt away as she eyed the way his strong hands held the reins and his thighs clung to the horse.

"Fine piece of flesh," she remarked wickedly.

"Thanks," he said, quirking an eyebrow at her.

"Oh, yeah, you're not bad either."

Niles laughed.  "And you're pure evil, CC."

"You like it."

"Oh, yeah."

CC was so unnerved by her own boldness that she wasn't watching in front of her.  Several riders ahead, one of the horses started and bucked.  Soon, the trail ride became a dangerous mess as horses bolted, crashed into each other, and bucked off their riders.  CC was almost unseated as her horse reared.  She managed to keep her seat, however, and tugged the reins to the right.  Her horse bolted clear of the mess, but didn't stop there.

CC found herself out of control as she struggled simply to keep her seat.  Her horse crashed through the underbrush, becoming more and more terrified each time a branch slapped him or a tiny animal ran for cover.

CC could just see herself dead, or a vegetable, or a paraplegic.  For a while, sheer panic took over as she fought to stay on, fought for her life.  At last, though, she took control and managed to steer her horse into a clearing and pull it to a stop.  She sat there, breathing heavily, dashing away the tears of terror.  She stoked her horse's neck, trying to calm him.

Suddenly she heard the sound of crashing flora and fauna behind her.  When she turned, Niles was ground-tying his horse a few feet behind her.

The look on her face scared him to death.  She was paper-white, her eyes wild.  She was trembling visibly.

"Come here," he said, holding out his arms.
 
CC gratefully slid down into his embrace.  When she hit the ground, her legs were weak and he had to hold her up.  She stared up into his eyes, looking so shaken and vulnerable, that he couldn't stop himself from dropping a kiss on her mouth.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and tilted her mouth up to his.  He kissed her deeply and thoroughly, pulling her close.  She ran her hands up and down his back.
 
His hands wandered down to her rear.  She gave a soft cry of astonishment.
 
"Sorry," he said, pulling away.
 
For a moment, there was a trace of fear on her features.  Then, she pulled him close again.  "Don't be," she said.  "I'm not."  And she melted into his embrace again.
 

CC was immediately put to bed and told to remain there until tomorrow to rest up and recover from her ordeal.  Fran fluttered around her for the rest of the day, and there was no chance to see Niles.
 
Fran was gone for about half an hour while CC slept, and when she came back, she had two treats for CC.  The first was food.
 
"Peanut butter and jelly," she called, having talked an attractive cook out of a tray large enough to feed twenty girls.
 
"Peanut butter," shrieked CC, hopping down from her bed to attack the tray.  "It's been so long!"
 
Fran eyed her.  "You and PB are close?" she inquired.
 
"Former best friends, till he started hanging around my hips and thighs all the time.  We're due for a reunion, although there was no need to invite the jelly and the bread."  CC managed to get all this out despite having half a sandwich in her mouth.  "So, you want to hear about him kissing me?"
 
"You're taking this whole PB metaphor way too far."
 
"Not PB.  N."
 
"Niles?" gasped Fran.  "Ooh -- does he kiss good?"
 
CC gave a happy moan that had nothing to do with PB.
 
"Cause that's my second surprise.  Niles told me he's gonna ask you to the dance on Saturday!"
 
"Iiiiiiiiieeeeeeeeee!"  CC jumped up and began pacing around.  "What'll I wear?  My white dress is too innocent, the flowered one is too loud, I wonder if it's too late to send home for another?"
 
"Siddown and have another sandwich," Fran suggested.
 
"How can I possibly eat?  I'll turn into a big fat cow!"  CC spun around until she fell down, laughing.
 

Resourceful CC remembered that it would be only proper to inform her family of her narrow escape.  So she phoned Bobo the next afternoon, just happening to take the opportunity to ask her to send a certain blue dress as soon as possible.  Bobo, however, refused to send the matching sapphire jewelry.  "You're in the boonies, for God's sake, CC.  Nobody important will be there."
 
"Well, tell Mummy that if she cares, her youngest almost perished horribly.  Tell Daddy, too.  Maybe I can cop a present."
 
Bobo groaned.  "What have I done to the innocent child who just wanted an ice cream to make her happy?"
 
CC smiled a very adult, catlike smile.  "You turned me into a Babcock."
 

Niles' palms were sweating.  He hurriedly wiped them on his shorts and turned to face the blonde who was bent over a sketch for a set.  "Umm Ceec?"
 
"Mmmm?"
 
"What are you doing Saturday?  I mean, are you going to the dance?"
 
"I guess.  Hadn't really thought about it."  CC gave him a casual shrug, trying to play it cool.
 
"Want to go together?"  He tried to make it sound offhand.
 
"Love to."
 
"Umm, great.  I'll stop by your cabin at eight.  Max is taking Fran, so we could all go together."
 
CC raised an eyebrow.  "Max finally worked up the guts to ask Fran to the dance?"
 
Niles rolled his eyes.  "Not exactly.  She more or less informed him that he was taking her."
 
CC laughed.  "That sounds like Fran."

 
Saturday night, Fran begged to do CC's hair.  "God, no.  I want to be able to fit through the door."  CC eyed Fran's pouf skeptically.
 
Fran watched CC arrange her long, shining hair.  "You're just like Guinevere," the Queen of Queens sighed dreamily.
 
CC was more pragmatic.  "Only when I'm married to somebody important, I'm not going to mess it up by falling in love with somebody else."
 
"How do you know?"

"I just wouldn't.  I know the kind of man I want to marry."

"Not a butler?" Fran said shrewdly.
 
CC stopped mid-curl and glared at Fran. "Niles isn't a butler.  He's smart, and handsome, and he's going to be an actor."
 
Fran rolled her eyes.  "Okay, let me guess.  A Babcock doesn't fall for a butler."
 
"Very good.  Although, it's a win-win situation.  When I get my trust, I can marry whoever I want because if we were married, he wouldn't be a butler.  Theoretically."
 
Fran just mm-hmmed, so engrossed in her three pounds of makeup was she.  CC smiled approvingly at her reflection.  She'd coiled most of her hair on her head in little ringlets, leaving a rich fall of thick golden curls to dangle down her back.  Her blue gown fit her tightly on top, and was a little bit low-cut over her breasts, and had a full skirt and thin shoulder straps.  For makeup, she chose a simple but striking look: black liner on top with plenty of mascara and a dramatic deep rose lipstick, with just a touch of blush to highlight her high cheekbones.
 

Niles couldn't believe his eyes when she stepped out of the cabin, looking shyly at him.  She looked like a medieval princess, regal and lovely and just a bit intimidating.  He had a recurrence of that interesting condition of his.
 
CC refused to eat, insisting she'd rather dance.  Niles agreed gladly, taking her into his arms.  They swayed gently from side to side, and CC lay her head on his shoulder.  For a few minutes, for perhaps the first time in her life, she felt like a normal girl, with no demands, no expectations of rank and position, no reason in the world for her not to be just like everybody else.
 
CC turned her head to smile at Fran, who was dancing in Maxwell's arms.  Fran knew of CC's secret plans for that evening.
 
After a couple of hours that flew by like minutes, CC touched his arm.  "Can we go for a walk?"
 
Niles agreed.  For a while they just walked in silence, hand in hand.  Then, he slid his arm around her waist.  "Hey, Babcock?" he murmured.
 
"Yes?"
 
"You actually look okay when you're not wearing the vampire mask."
 
"What makes you think that one's the mask?"
 
Niles grinned.  "Trying to tell me you bite?"
 
"I'll never tell.  You'll just have to take your chances."
 
Niles pulled her up hard against him, a dramatic gesture he'd seen Clark Gable and Humphrey Bogart do.  It worked.  CC's eyes shone up at him, her mouth slightly parted in breathless anticipation.  He kissed her deeply.
 
When they finally broke apart, he whispered, "Should we be getting back?"
 
"Oh, no," she answered with a little smile.  "I think we should stay out here a while longer."
 
Niles raised his eyebrows.  "CC, do you want to -- "
 
"Umm - hmm.  You read my mind."
 
"But I don't have -- "
 
"I do," she said, drawing the appropriate device from inside the top of her gown.
 
Niles' jaw dropped.  "You're amazing, Ceec."
 
"I aim to please."  Having gotten the answer she was hoping for, CC's hands moved to his tie.  She acted quickly before her confidence evaporated.  He kissed her again.
 
"Babcock, have you ever done this before?"
 
"No, could you tell?"
 
"You're shaking like a leaf.  Here, let me."  Before she knew what was happening, they were both naked, lying on the moss-covered forest floor.
 
He had a great body, compact and muscular.  It felt warm and good, so close to her own.
 
Niles was not totally inexperienced.  He made love to her slowly, tenderly, bringing her to orgasm easily.  Despite her fear, she responded with passion and eagerness.  Even that moment of searing pain seemed special because it was with him.
 
CC lay on the ground holding him when it was all over.  He wiped away her tears, and said, "Happy tears, or sad tears?"
 
"Happy."
 
"Why?"
 
"I set out to use you for your body and you fell for it."
 
Niles burst out laughing.  "Well, I knew I'd have you the moment I saw you," he said arrogantly.  She hit him in the chest.
 
"Abusive woman!  Knock it off!"
 
"Make me."
 
"Again?"
 
"Okay, Butler Boy."
 

The dance was nearly over by the time they returned.  They'd been gone long enough to be noticed, especially by Fran, who'd been hoping to sneak away for a similar evening with a resistant Max.
 
Fran dragged CC off to the girls' room to pull twigs out of her long hair and give her the third degree.  When they came back, CC was still floating on air, but Fran noticed an ugly change right away.
 
Niles was standing in a corner looking sheepish, with Maxwell clearly berating him.  Half the universe was listening in.
 
"Shit," muttered Fran.
 
Niles came over for one last dance with CC.  After it was over, they shyly said good-bye, not even able to think of a wisecrack.
 
CC was smiling radiantly all the way back, until just outside their cabin when a cabin mate of Niles' approached them.  "Good going, Babcock," he commented slyly.  "You know, there's an end of the month dance in a couple of weeks.  I'd love to take you."  The double entendre was clear.  Fran balled up her fists, but CC was faster.  Her hand snaked out and slapped him.  She stood utterly still, her face a mask of control, until he'd gone.  "How did he know?  Why did Niles tell everyone?"  CC demanded.
 
"Niles didn't have to, doll.  Everybody figured it out long before you two got back, then Max started in on him for doing that to you, and that filled in the blanks."
 
CC burst into tears.  Fran tried to hurry her inside where she could cry with at least some privacy, but CC refused to move.
 
One of their cabin mates wandered by.  "What's her deal?  Sounds to me like she had the best night of anyone here."
 
"Oh, shut up and help me get her inside.  She can't stay here all night."
 
The girl recoiled.  "I'm not touching her until she's had a shower.  God only knows what she's got on her."
 
At that moment, something inside CC Babcock froze.  She lifted her head and walked with haughty pride into the cabin, leaving a confused Fran to follow behind.  All her aristocratic training, which she'd been so ready to deny, now came to her aid as she withstood the curiosity and sometimes open scorn of her cabin mates.    She showered, dressed herself for bed, and climbed up onto her bunk moving as stiffly as Fran's grandmother.
 
The next morning, her entire body was sore.  CC, through a supreme effort of self-control, contrived to walk and move normally.  Emotionally, though, she was completely shut off.
 
Despite her greater sexual experience, Fran knew she was still innocent in a way that the shamed and humiliated CC Babcock would never be again.  She wasn't surprised when CC even pulled away from her.  At breakfast, CC laid her hand on Fran's, said a simple "Thank you, Fran," then withdrew.
 
At rehearsal, CC managed to put some passion into her acting of the vicious female vampire for the first time.  In fact, she was eerily believable.
 
Fran tugged on Niles' shirt, telling him what had happened to CC the night before in the cabin.  Niles was shocked.  The poor little thing.
 
He tried to embrace her, but she pulled away.  "I'm sorry, Niles," she said quietly.  "I can't do that again.  It was wonderful, but -- " CC's control almost slipped and she turned away.
 
Niles was furious at her for rejecting him, but he knew she had a right to be angry.  "CC, I didn't tell them."
 
"I know."
 
"Then why are you taking this out on me?"
 
"Jesus Christ, Niles, I need some time alone, okay?  It's been a shock."
 
"What now, Babcock, done using the butler?"  He meant it for a joke, but it came out more bitterly than he'd intended.
 
She turned, looked at him long and hard, and when she thought she could speak without crying, she hissed, "Yes."
 
Then she turned and walked away.
 

 
For the rest of the week, each one remained locked in their private hell.  CC stayed close to Fran physically, but close to no one emotionally.  After that first day, she managed to summon a brittle smile and faux-cheerful tone of voice to hide her anguish.
 
Niles was getting damned sick of her acting like she was the first time anyone ever lost their virginity.  He fell back on their old habit of teasing, but this time it was with a vengeance.  "Hey, ice princess," he said to her one day after dinner.
 
"Do you want something, servant?"
 
"No, thanks, had enough."
 
CC sputtered.  "As far as I'm concerned, you had entirely too much!"
 
"That's for damn sure."
 
"Children, children," Maxwell snapped.  "A little decorum, please?"
 
CC laughed brittlely.  "Wish you'd suggested that Saturday night."  She looked him up and down.  "Come to think of it, Maxwell darling, there's more than one thing I wish you had suggested Saturday night."
 
Her three companions stared at her in astonishment.  She gave him a limpid smile and said, "Give it some thought," as she rose to go.
 
"And Babcock will do the rest," Niles added cruelly.
 
"Niles, of course, will be there to clean up after us, won't you, Niles?" she smiled sweetly.
 
That night, Fran barely spoke to CC.  CC knew exactly why, but in her injured state she told herself fiercely that she didn't care.  She'd teach that plebian bastard Niles to humiliate her.
 
After Saturday night, CC didn't cry again.  Nor did she smile, unless it was the cruel catlike smile that meant she had the upper hand.  But she lay awake in her bunk the night she'd come on to Maxwell, thinking, I'll never let anyone humiliate me again.
 
Deep down, she blamed herself for her rebellious streak.  If she'd gone with everything she'd been told, she'd never have gotten involved with an inferior.  And CC convinced herself that he truly was her inferior, and that was why it had turned into such a disaster.

She felt the desperate need for a change.  Suddenly she felt so underdressed and vulnerable.

That day, they had an outing into town.  CC found a small dress shop where she bought some skirts and blouses that didn't have the slightest suggestion of sexy.

Then, she found the beauty parlor.  When she exited, blinking, into the sunlight, she left nearly three feet of hair behind.  It now curled gently against her chin and made her sculpted features look regal and patrician.
 
The next morning at breakfast, she barely spoke, even to acknowledge the chorus of compliments on her hair.  She disappeared before rehearsals, and Fran found her in the cabin, where she refused to come out for lunch.  When Fran got back from Arts and Crafts, CC was gone without a trace.
 
The only thing that remained was CC's now ragged, mudstained blue dress, which she left on her bed.
 

Niles whistled as he dusted Maxwell's living room.  His mind was anywhere but on that summer so many years ago when a lovely blond used him and threw his love in his face because he was a butler.
 
Life was good.  Max's recent marriage to Sarah Sheffield had resulted in a child, Margaret, and a boy on the way.  Sheffield Productions was a huge success, and Maxwell was looking for someone well versed in the theater to run the business side of things.
 
Sarah had suggested someone she knew from Bryn Mawr College.  "She's a business whiz, and she's a prominent socialite, so she'll have lots of connections for potential backers.  Her name is CC Babcock."
 
"You know," Max said thoughtfully, "I believe I've heard that name before.  I can't imagine where, though if you say she's prominent, possibly I've just heard of her from a mutual acquaintance.  Get her over here.  I'd like to meet her."
 
Maxwell waited in the living room, watching Niles dust.  Niles insisted he was content to be a butler, although he wouldn't refuse a raise.  Max chuckled.  If he gave raises as often as Niles wanted them, Niles would be a part owner in Sheffield Productions.
 
Sarah came out of the dining room where she'd been feeding Margaret, just as the doorbell rang.
 
Niles opened the door.
 
CC stood there.
 
The two simply stared at each other, dumbfounded, until he thought to take her coat.  "Come slumming again, Miss Babcock?"
 
"Don't you wish, toilet scrubber."
 
"Well, it's nice to see you're at least pretending not to be so easy."
 
CC had about ten decent comebacks, but they were no longer teenagers, and she was now a businesswoman.  She simply raised one delicately arched eyebrow and draped her coat over his arm.
 
She moved forward, a bright smile on her sculpted features.  "Sarah, darling, how lovely to see you.  Pregnancy becomes you."  CC searched Maxwell for any sign of recognition, but his face was blank except for a welcoming smile.

"Miss Babcock.  I'm Maxwell Sheffield.  Welcome, please come into the office."

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