The C.C. Curse

by

Aimee
(aimeed@earthlink.net)

C.C. brushed past the swinging door and into the kitchen with a casual "Morning, Soap Scum, got any bottled water?"

Niles looked up from the chicken salad he was fixing for lunch. "Morning, Caca, decided to give up the Johnny Walker?" He crossed to the refrigerator.

"Only until five, then all bets are off. You know, you ought to join me. We need to work on this alcoholism issue you have."

"I'm not the alcoholic in this room, you lush."

"I know. That's what I mean. Even Gracie makes a better martini than you." C.C. uncapped the water he handed her and took a long drink.

"How did Miss Grace learn to -- Oh, Caca, you didn't!"

C.C. grinned devilishly. "See? I'm not so bad with kids."

By five, C.C. had forgotten all about her morning banter with the annoying butler. She really wasn't all that interested in playing another round of Tylenol Tag with a bad hangover, either. Maybe she was getting old, but the thrill ride had come to a screeching halt lately, especially since that little episode with Niles, an empty house, and a bottle of Johnny Walker Black. After that fiasco, C.C. was too scared to get drunk.

Maxwell had long since left on a date with Fran. It still gave C.C. the creeps to see them together. They were so in love, and despite the fact that she'd aC.C.epted that Maxwell would never be hers, C.C. still felt a jealous frustration that Nanny Fine got whatever she wanted, including the man, and C.C. did not.

Niles entered with a silver tray bearing a decanter and two glasses, and watched her for a moment with a smile on his face. Her golden hair was tucked behind one ear, and she wore a tiny frown of concentration. At one point, she moistened her lips with the very tip of her tongue, and seemed totally unaware of the sensual gesture. Then she looked up. "Oh, Niles, you didn't! Really, I'm trying to cut down."

The woman was so damn frustrating! Had they not made a drinking date just that morning? "You're trying to quit. Right. And Lee Harvey Oswald really didn't shoot Kennedy."

C.C. paused in an attitude of listening.

"What are you doing?" he asked in exasperation.

"I'm waiting for Yetta to go 'Somebody shot Kennedy?' Now if you wanna fight, any chance you could go get me some water instead?"

"Dear God, Babcock's gone dry! Isn't that a sign of the Apocalypse? You want some raspberry iced tea? I just made it."

"Actually, that sounds great." To her surprise, Niles promptly poured from the decanter into a cut-crystal glass. "You didn't bring the booze?"

"What's with you, woman, are you PMSing? First you want booze, then you don't, now you do again."

"Kinda like Maxwell's approach to Nanny Fine, isn't it?"

Niles chuckled. "I only hope you end up as close to the bottle as Mr. Sheffield will to Miss Fine."

"Don't be disgusting. I may be a little too fond of the bottle, but it's strictly platonic."

Niles moaned at her outrageous comment. "That was bad."

"And you had no comeback."

"Darlin', you're not that good. Comeback? I haven't even come once."

"In this lifetime."

"Tonight."

"Hooooo, boy, suddenly I'm really glad there's a desk between you and me."

"Mmmm. You wouldn't be, if you knew what Miss Fine and Mr. Sheffield have done on that desk."

C.C. scooted back hastily, tossing back the entire tumbler in one gulp.

Niles refilled her iced tea glass. "Want to make this night interesting?"

"No."

"Come on, I'm bored. Let's play poker."

Suddenly interested, C.C. perked up. Niles never won at anything. "What are the stakes, high roller?"

"Slave time. Ten minutes a game."

C.C. thought it over for about two seconds. Niles, her slave. Niles having to do, say, or clean whatever she told him to do, say, or clean. "You're on. Go make some dinner while I finish up here."

"Hey, I'm not your slave yet!"

"Emphasis on 'yet'."

Niles threw a pizza into the oven and mixed up another pitcher of raspberry iced tea. He mixed up some brownies and threw them in as soon as the pizza came out. This was going to be great. For some reason, he always won whenever she was near. And it was poetic justice that she would be assisting in her own downfall.

Just then, she came up behind him and snagged a piece of warm pizza. "Come on, easy-off, you ready to rumble?" She started humming, "Hey Big Spender" as she moved into the living room.

They sat down together on the couch in the living room. C.C. won the first several hands easily, then Niles took a break and got out the brownies. When he'd cut them up and come back, C.C. had a notepad and pen and was mumbling to herself, "Oven needs cleaned, car needs a wax job, pantyhose need ironing . . . Oh, Niles, I was just planning your schedule for tomorrow. Tomorrow is your day off, n'est ce pas? Or it was until you challenged me to a game of poker."

Niles offered her a brownie. "Remember on the cruise ship? I won whenever you were nearby. I guess the curse doesn't work if I'm playing against you."

"It was a double-edged sword for you anyway, gambling gourmet. You know what people thought about you rooming with Yetta?"

"That she dumped you for a human being?"

"Mmm, these brownies are great. Deal, Niles, I've only got forty minutes of your time right now and a lot of dirty laundry."

Niles groaned as he dealt. Counting on the C.C. curse to protect him from C.C. had been just plain stupid. "I should never have tried to fight the forces of darkness!"

C.C. started humming the Twilight Zone song as she examined her cards. "Three," she said.

Niles took three as well, and examined his hand. He had jack, and he wasn't talking Daniels.

C.C. had a pair of twos. "Whew, I thought I almost owed you ten minutes there."

"So, we haven't discussed payoff. Assuming I actually win a game, do you owe me ten minutes?"

"I don't know, you suggested the stakes. Hold on a sec, I'm hot." C.C. shrugged off the cardigan to her mint-colored sweater set. She was left wearing a mint-green fuzzy wool top with short sleeves and a high neckline. "I figured, loser's minutes get subtracted from winner's for the grand total. Not that it's going to be an issue."

Niles was getting a little hot under the collar as well. He took off his navy blazer and loosened his tie. Last time he'd had to be her slave, she'd made him stand in the middle of the kitchen on a chair wearing a negligee she was "fixing." It took him weeks to live that one down. God only knew what she'd think up now. The woman was unhinged.

He really should give some thought to being nicer to her.

He pulled off a bite of gooey, warm brownie. "Open your mouth and close your eyes," he ordered playfully. C.C. obeyed, and leaned toward him. He popped the brownie into her mouth, but she closed her lips before he could withdraw his fingers. Her eyes popped open in surprise as she found herself sucking on his fingertips, and she jerked back.

"Your fingers taste salty," she said when she'd swallowed her brownie. "You starting to sweat?"

"You're not the type to get me all hot and bothered. I like women." Damn, why couldn't he keep his trap shut? She was gonna own him in a couple of hours, and he was deliberately baiting her.

By the end of the night, Niles owed her the better part of his day off plus his immortal soul. "Just kill me now," he pleaded.

C.C. was surprised. Evidently the C.C. curse that worked at the gambling tables didn't work for the home version. On the cruise ship, even when they played against each other they won equally and everyone else lost miserably. Evidently it didn't work at all when it was at her expense. She smiled. She could live with that. "Wanna play one last game, winner take all?"

"All of what?"

"The entire day, midnight to midnight." Niles had gambling issues the way she had alcohol issues and Fran had shopping issues. There was no way he'd pass this up.

"Think about it, Niles," she urged. "Me, your servant for once? Tell me the thought doesn't intrigue you."

"It doesn't," he said. "In fact, intrigue doesn't even begin to describe it. Captivate, rather." He laughed evilly. "Emphasis on 'captive.'"

C.C. smirked back at him, shuffling the cards. Silently, she thanked whatever power governed her luck at cards, and hoped the C.C. Curse would hold true for this last high-stakes game.

"You're going down, mister," she said with almost sensual enjoyment.

She dealt the cards, then examined hers. Nada. She discarded three. "Niles, how many?" She kept her face a careful blank.

"Two," he said, and she raised her eyebrows. Was he bluffing?

She dealt his cards, then looked at her own. Nothing. For the first time, a frission of fear began in her stomach. "What've you got, Niles?"

He lay down a pair of sevens.

She stared at the cards, stunned. "I don't believe it," she gasped. "No!"

Niles perked up. "What? Come on, Babs, lay it all out on the table."

Shivering at his look of sadistic anticipation, C.C. lay her cards on the table.

For a moment, Niles was still. Then, he let rip with a yell that probably woke half the neighborhood. "Yee-haw! Your tuchus is mine, C.C. Babcock! I own you! God, yes! This is so good!"

C.C. glanced at the clock in desperation. One minute to midnight. No time to think of a way out.

Niles shuffled the cards and put them away. He stretched his body out on the sofa. "C.C.," he said, deliberately teasing her by using her first name. "Put the brownies over here where I can reach them and go clean up the pizza. Wrap each slice in plastic wrap and put it away. Put three pieces in green wrap and label them Brighton, Gracie, and Maggie -- those are Maxwell's children, in case you forgot again -- and put the other five pieces in pink wrap and label it Sylvia."

C.C. nodded and took the dirty dishes and remaining pizza away. She did as he asked and washed the dishes. It took her forever because the cheese just didn't want to come off.

Niles came in to see what was going on. "Babcock," he said patiently. "Why didn't you just use the dishwasher?"

"What dishwasher?"

"Oops. Did I forget to mention that?" said Niles, returning to the living room.

"Look at me!" she cried angrily when she finally finished. "I broke two nails and my hands feel all dry, and my brand-new manicure is ruined, and I cut myself on a knife!" C.C. paused for breath. Maybe if she complained enough, Niles would just get sick of tormenting her.

It was then she noticed that all the lights were off except for one dim lamp in a far corner. The whole living room looked dark and forbidding. Niles reclined on the sofa, looking relaxed and at peace.

"Come here," he told her. He examined her hands. "You're right, housework doesn't agree with you. Well, merciful man that I am -- "

"Yeah, right!"

"I'll just have to think of something else for you to do." He had lots of ideas. "Rub my feet." That was the nicest of them.

C.C. wrinkled her nose fastidiously, but did as he asked. She sat at his feet, and removing his shoes and socks, massaged his feet with her strong, quick fingers.

"Oh, very good, Miss Babcock. Have you lost a lot of poker games lately?" Niles was starting to feel strange. Through the curtain of her hair, he could just see her worrying her lower lip with her teeth.

C.C. grumbled, "Rotten C.C. Curse kicks out just when I need it most." When the words "C.C. Curse" crossed her lips, she started to feel incredibly peculiar.

"Maybe not." Niles' eyes had gone a darker blue, and he looked at her intensely.

"Looks like it from my end." C.C. shook her head to clear it, but it did no good.

"Come here, Miss Babcock." He sat up and patted the cushion beside him. She sat down, and he pulled her close, not even knowing what he was going to do until he was doing it. Her eyes widened, and her lips parted on a gasp of shock as he brushed a light kiss across her mouth, then a tantalizing touch just at the corner, erotic temptation designed to arouse rather than satisfy.

Releasing her tension on a long breathy sigh, C.C. arched her body against his exploring fingers. "Now I know why they call it a 'hand' of poker," she quipped.

"Does that make me your seven-card stud?"

"I know they say two is wild, but I don't think they meant inches, Niles."

"Oh, yeah? Deal this." Niles grinned devilishly, drawing her hand downward.

"Oooh, I've heard of having an ace up your sleeve, but never down your pants!"

"Is that a royal flush appearing on your cheeks?"

"This is getting ridiculous," C.C. sighed. "Damn C.C. curse."

Niles grinned at her. "Hey -- are you getting the feeling -- "

"That we both won again?" C.C. grinned. "Just come over here and ante up. You're about to hit the jackpot."

Back to Fan Fiction

Back to The Really Unofficial Nanny Home Page