Foo’d for Thought

Rating: Well, there is sex, but I was careful how I wrote it. So I would say an ‘R’.
Pairing: N/CC, F/M, and F/CC (No, not that way! Minds out of the gutter people!)

Foo’d for Thought

"Oh can it already!" CC grouched from behind the kitchen counter as she dropped a cherry on top of her hot fudge sundae.

"I’ve had to listen to Maxwell sing that song every morning for a week now. Is there a Lynn Redgrave film festival going on or something?"

"Or something!" Fran placed a tray of empty and semi-empty glasses onto the counter.

Fran noticed her mood. "What’s wrong Miss Babcock? Aren’t you happy for us?"

The kitchen door swung open and as soon as Niles walked inside, CC tensed up and bent over her bowl.

"More like antiquated," Niles mumbled under his breath as he picked up the silver tea kettle and tray and left the room without greeting anyone.

"Niles has been acting grouchy all week," Fran looked at the closing door, "and here you are stuffing your face. What’s going on?"

"You’re nose deep into three scoops of vanilla ice cream, hot fudge sauce," she dipped her finger in, "warm hot fudge sauce. That’s the bat signal for man trouble," she sucked her finger clean.

CC scowled even more and picked up her bowl to leave the room, but Fran blocked her way.

"What? Miss Babcock I don’t know Japanese and I don’t know Portuguese, but I’m very fluent in ‘Food-in-the-mouthese’. I am a Fine after all. But I know you didn’t just say that Niles kissed you.

Again a nod and then the thump of a forehead hitting the kitchen counter followed.

CC leaned the side of her face on the counter, dipped her spoon in the bowl and took another mouthful and mumbled.

"Orgasmic?!" Fran was beside herself. This was the best gossip she’s heard in a long time. "I’ve got to tell Max! And my mom! And Val!"

"You can’t tell anybody! The best thing to do now is to forget it ever happened. Niles can’t stand me anyway so there’s no reason to dwell on it."

"Are you kidding me? I can count on one hand the amount of guys who have made me lose feeling in my legs from one simple kiss. You can’t forget something like that!"

"Well, one hand holding the peace-sign up. So really, two. My ex-fiancé Danny. But Max’s kisses also added tingles to my toes and fire to my thighs and I felt this ooziness…"

CC held up her hand, "Okay… that’s more than I wanted to know about your lovelife Nanny Fine."

"I have no idea. One moment we were in this kitchen being mean to each other like usual and then I wasn’t sure what I wanted more, another bite of the cookie or Niles’ tongue in my mouth."

Fran shuddered. "And you thought I went into share overload…. wait a minute… a cookie… not the ones that were in the box that had Chinese writing on it?"

CC nodded as she finger-scraped the side of the bowl for the last traces of fudge sauce. Then she saw Fran’s eyes get almost as big as her mouth. "What?"

Fran grabbed her arm, "I’ll explain while you drive me to where I got those cookies and don’t forget… I’m a probably pregnant woman."

"So what you’re saying is that both parties have to already be in love with each other for the cookies to work? The cookies just loosen their inhibitions?" Fran asked in surprise.

CC sat on the floor next to a chair with a dazed look in her eyes. Mr. Foo rushed over and helped CC up and onto the chair.

CC’s eyes bugged out and she frantically shoved her hands into her purse. Fran watched as she shakily pulled out something. Soon a flame flickered from a silver lighter. Then a lick of flame sprang out and wavered back and forth in the air before finally lighting the cigarette.

"I did… I have." She waved the cigarette in the air. "This was my last one that I’ve saved over the years." Her elbow bent and she almost took a puff only to pull it away.

Fran watched silently as CC clenched it in between her quivering white-knuckled fingers.

The cigarette crumpled under the pressure and fell. Obscenities rented the air as she almost jumped out of her seat.

Fran’s eyebrows knitted. "I don’t understand you. In fact, I don’t understand any of this. If you and Niles love each other why all the insults?"

"You don’t understand anything! Don’t you see how vulnerable we both felt? How could I tell him that I fell in love with him without knowing how he felt about me? He might laugh at me and then use it at every opportunity."

"Niles wouldn’t do that." At CC’s incredulous look, "Okay, with you, he would do that. But don’t you see how many years you two wasted by not being honest with each other?"

"You were honest with Maxwell almost from the get-go and remember how much he hurt you."

Fran thought about that and then replied. "But even under all that I knew he cared for me."

"But he wouldn’t admit it to you or to himself, that’s my point. Do you think you had it easier than I did? There’s Maxwell mooning over you…" at Fran’s surprised look, "I wasn’t as clueless as everyone thought! Anyway, there’s Maxwell mooning over you, paying you compliments, running his eyes all over your body, but when push came to shove – he chose shove."

"Yes, but doesn’t it bother you that all these years even though everyone knew how much he cared for you, he tried not to? And when you thought you were pregnant and tried to tell him, he told you he wasn’t ready to share you yet with anybody. He wasted all that time he could have been with you and only you, but he spent his time denying his feelings. That doesn’t bother you?"

Fran sat down next to her, her lips trembled. And softly she answered, "It use to." She thought about it some more. "It was hard throwing myself at him all the time. Sometimes he would fumble, but a lot of the times he caught me… and kissed me." She hummed happily to herself as she touched her lips, remembering the soft kisses that Maxwell trailed on her lips and then down to her throat just that morning.

Instead of answering her, Fran turned to CC, "I know you and Niles kissed, Miss Babcock. I saw at least one with my own eyes and it was a dilly! What kept you coming back to the house knowing that instead of him kissing you again, he was going to make fun of you?"

Fran watched her sitting there thinking to herself quietly. A vast array of emotions flitted through the blonde woman’s eyes. She watched as CC’s lips would twitch almost into a smile and then her eyes would darken and she looked so vulnerable. Then CC began to speak.

"Niles could be sweet. There were moments when he would be so charming and gentle. He would bake my favorite cookies and sometimes I thought he did it because he wanted to get me fat, but I would catch him looking at me in the office and I saw affection in his eyes, even desire. I lived for those moments. I’ve gone out with many men and a couple of them I actually cared for. When they complimented me and told me how beautiful and sexy they thought I was, I won’t deny that it felt good to hear. A woman likes compliments and I’m no different than you. But Niles… well when he would lower his head after a particularly good zinger and smile at me from beneath his eyebrows… my heart would scatter and bounce. I knew he didn’t mean what he was saying."

"And you think it’s easier to live every day for just those moments rather than yell your love for him from the rooftops?"

CC pouted. "You just don’t understand how my life has been. You’ve had all the luck in your life."

"Me?!" Fran was flabbergasted. "Try eating pasta with ketchup spaghetti sauce for years and then tell me who’s lucky!"

"But you are lucky. Your family likes to be around you. They’re always at the house. Boy, are they always at the house!"

"I’ve met your father and your brother Miss Babcock and they’re very nice. They’re very busy, but they care about you."

CC shrugged. "I suppose they do. And my mom and my sister care in their own way, but family was never a priority growing up."

Fran snorted. "Would you really want your mom in your business all the time? Ever since I married Max, I’ve heard from cousins of cousins. All wanting a hand-out."

"If you ever need someone to take care of that problem, I know a guy…" CC fished out a business card with a picture of cement shoes from her purse.

"And you know what else," CC continued on, "you have this flair. I loathe admitting it, but men find you wildly attractive."

Fran grinned, her white teeth gleamed. Then she shook her head. "That use to be really important to me, but now I have Max. I think what you have is much better." She adjusted in her seat and faced CC, straightening up as she did so which made her chest rise.

CC looked at her then down to her own breasts. "C-cups? Believe me, they can hurt your back after awhile."

Fran rolled her eyes. "Not that! I was talking about how men take you more seriously than they do me."

"It’s how you dress. You parade everything out there – of course they’re going to ogle."

CC scoffed. "Puh-lease! All you need to do is pin a picture of Santa in his sleigh on your ass and no one would be the wiser!"

Mr. Foo finally stepped in to intervene. "Excuse me." He bowed. "I have a cookie…"

"It is from a different recipe – fortune cookie. To make you feel better. Individually wrapped," he urged.

Mr. Foo then offered one to Fran, she smiled and took it, murmuring her thanks. Then she stood up and turned to CC.

They broke open their cookies. CC stuffed her fortune in her pocket without looking and bit into her cookie. Fran puzzled over her fortune, stuffed it into her purse and joyfully munched on her cookie. Then they said their good-byes to Mr. Foo and headed over to the exit. The bell over the door tinkled with noise as it opened and then closed after them.

Mrs. Foo who had been watching and listening to the whole drama from the back room stepped up to her husband. "You know you gave them the wrong cookies don’t you?"

Mr. Foo smiled down at his wife and nodded. "Yes. But if there was anyone who needed those cookies it was them. A lesson well learned is something we all need every now and then."

"But Mrs. Sheffield is trying to get pregnant. What will happen after they eat those cookies and they switch bodies?"

Maxwell pouted and dropped the cookie back into the box. "But I haven’t had one and you and CC have been telling me all week how delicious they are."

"They’re very good, but dinner is about to be served." He looked down into the open box. "I thought we finished all of them."

Niles gave him a slight nod before he drew his attention to his simmering sauce. Quickly looking at his butler, Maxwell deftly palmed the cookie and ran out of the kitchen. He saw CC sitting in the dining room. The table was otherwise empty. Not willing to share the cookie with anyone and with its enticing aroma still in his senses, Maxwell pocketed it to eat later.

Within moments, the adjoining door to the dining room swung open and a suited figure stepped through. Fran tapped CC’s shoulder as she walked by to sit at her place. CC looked up at her and Fran gave her the ‘go-for-it’ look. CC gave her a great big shake of her head just as Niles walked by with the serving tray.

"Is it flea and tick season already," the butler grumbled as he held the tongs and used it to pick up the Beef Steak Tartar and placed it on her plate.

Maxwell rolled his eyes at the familiar antics between his butler and business partner and then turned towards his wife, a tender smile on his face.

Fran was so busy trying to kick CC under the table that she didn’t hear her husband speaking to her.

"Yes it is. We’ll get them next time - those eggs of yours won’t have a chance!" Maxwell reached over and clasped his beautiful wife’s fingers in his own. He was happy that she wasn’t as devastated as last time. Something else must be on her mind. He watched her turn away to glance at CC and took the opportunity to blindly pick up the cookie from the confines of his jacket pocket and furtively eat it before Niles could moan at him about spoiling his dinner before it was served. A strong feeling of want overtook him suddenly. He turned to his wife. "You look ravishing!"

Fran whipped her attention back to her husband, grinned and leaned over for a kiss. Since the children were off overnight with their friends, Fran forgot about CC’s dilemma and lavished her attention onto her husband.

Maxwell found his propriety and good manners quickly leaving as soon as he felt the soft touch of his wife’s lips upon his and its insistent manner of enticing him out of decorum.

"You’re gorgeous," he said thickly, kissing and surveying her face and quickly casting his eyes upon her neck and chest. The manner of which she leant into him gave him a lovely view of the top of her breasts within the tight confines of her silver and orange dress.

"I daresay you would, but I would rather make love to you," he muttered huskily.

The intense look in his eyes and the way his voice caressed her ears made Fran almost swoon. She didn’t want to deny him a thing. Her heart beat wildly as she felt his caressing fingers. She could almost taste the determination in them as they moved to the slender swell of her hips, rendering her like candle wax under their persuasive pressure. Her muscles must have melted, for she couldn’t feel them.

"Don’t you want to touch me as well?" he whispered again in her ear, his Aramis cologne wafted into her senses.

Fran wanted to. Oh, how she wanted to! But the fact that Max was being so affectionate outside the walls of their bedroom was affecting her beyond reason. She was shocked to her toes. Immobilized. And so very turned on!

Maxwell watched her intently, his green eyes smoldering, then slowly his mouth took possession of hers. His hands seemed to be everywhere and as her lips parted, they drew her closer, moving down her body to press her in towards him. Instinctively, she clutched at him, as the strength left her legs, an electric shock flashed through her as her fingers came in contact with the warmth of his chest.

Her eyes widened. ‘I don’t remember unbuttoning his shirt!’ But she must have because soon her nimble fingers had his white dress shirt open all the way and his grey tie slipped off the chair onto the floor without notice.

Fran could feel the heat of his flesh communicating with her burning palms sliding against him. She felt herself wonder at the strength of his desire and questions upon questions flitted through her mind, yet as soon as he stopped kissing her, her mouth opened in silent protest, wanting to be possessed again. The glitter in his eyes might have brought her to her senses if she hadn’t been lost to everything but the burning demands of her own body.

"Max," she whispered, totally at the mercy of the throbbing, pulsating sweetness inside her, unable to understand what was happening.

As she gasped his name, he bent his lips to her throat. "What do you want Fran? Tell me." His voice demanding and rough as he continued to nuzzle her neck, licking and nibbling. The slight coarseness of his five o’clock shadow rubbing against the softness of the inside of her neck made her moan. Not since their honeymoon, marooned on that island, had Maxwell been so sexually menacing and it was turning her on something fierce.

He nipped her neck and Fran gave a squeal of slight pain and then her body shuddered in ecstasy.

"Oh Godddd…" Fran was in a delirium of overwhelming stimulants. He wanted her to talk, but it was hard enough to form thoughts as his hands caressed her all over, from her hips, up and down her back, then squeezing her butt as he fiercely brought her closer to himself. She felt his excitement and want quite clearly against herself.

"Tell me Fran," his voice demandingly caressed, his hands cajoled. "What do you want?"

Before she finished her directive, Max picked her up like a feather, rushed out of the room, up the stairs and soon was dropping her into the depth of their mattress. She had a hazy impression of his clothes flying to a chair before he came down beside her, depleting her further of her already shortened breath.

"Much better than standing around, don’t you agree?" He muttered almost to himself, gathering her to him as he slipped the narrow straps from her shoulders so her dress almost fell to her waist.

The expertise and swiftness of his movements stunned Fran. Dazed, she watched his eyes as his fingers explored the new bra she wore. His eyes narrowed until it found the fastening on the front, then she watched them glitter with triumph as he dealt with it, exposing the full contours of her breasts to his smoldering gaze. She nearly died with lust.

Fran ran an excited tongue-tip over her lips. Her heart was beating so wildly she feared he must feel it as he lowered his mouth to the almost visible movement of it. She thought she might go mad under his lightly caressing hands which soothed and kneaded beside the increasing pressure of his mouth. His heavier body lowered on hers, making no secret of his arousal once again. She felt an ache in her body silently begging him to go faster, needing to surrender.

"See what you do to me," he whispered. As he heard her soft moan, his mouth returned to hers, biting its way past the throbbing pulse in her throat, hard with sensuous reassurance. "Oh Fran, I still can’t believe how lucky I am to have found you," he muttered thickly, as her arms went helplessly around his neck.

He grazed the fullness of her tender breasts with his hair-roughened skin. He must have been aware of her smothered gasp of pain as he put more of his weight upon her, but he took no notice. Instead he crushed her closer, waiting with the patience of an experienced predator until the urgency of her own desire made her forget any feelings of discomfort.

His mouth took hers savagely as his hands wildly caressed her everywhere. Vaguely she was conscious of his slipping patience. Pain and passion mingled as he explored areas she was sure he hadn’t been aware of. Her slight body writhed against his, her nails made red marks on his shoulders. The kiss went on and on. Her blood rushed hotly through her veins and her mind blanked out to everything but the smell and taste of him, the pleasure he was arousing. Her lips were moist and parted. Hungrily she let him do as he liked with her and he crushed her more to him, a movement that threatened to drive her insane with lust.

Overwhelmed, Fran let the world drift, fast losing all consciousness of it. It wasn’t until her breasts swelled in the cup of his hands, and as one kiss melted into another, then another, that her body became utterly pliant. He crushed her lips again and again, his tongue delved deep and then teased as Fran responded with wanton abandonment. As the beat of mutual desire throbbed between them, she gazed at his tall, strong body, still fascinated by its male beauty. He was magnificent. When the bareness of their bodies rubbed against each other and his mouth and tongue teased in turn, a white-hot heat flamed even deeper down inside her. And as if he knew, a new ferocity came to his lovemaking. A shock-wave went right through her. She gasped and her nails dug fiercely into his shoulders as she tried to tell him what he was doing to her.

"Steady," he muttered thickly. "I want every part of you my darling, but it’ll be much better for you if you can rein them in until it’s too much to take."

Fran breathed deeply against his chest. A moan then tore through as his expert caresses brought a mounting intoxication. Feverishly she ran her hands over his back, delighting in the feel of strong muscles rippling under smooth skin. He groaned, raising her body slightly, holding it against him.

Maxwell groaned, responding to her need. She took huge gulps of air, struggling to breathe as her body met his over and over. Their joined forms met again and again, both oblivious to anything but the intensely building pleasures growing between them. Fran dug her nails into his shoulders as he let out a soft groan. Her body turned to liquid.

Maxwell wrapped his arms around her as she collapsed back onto the bed and held her close for a long moment.

"Oh yeah! It made me feel like we were on our honeymoon again. You were so manly and in charge."

"You’re all man, baby." Fran turned her face up and kissed her husband thoroughly. "But tonight you were like Incredible Hulk without the green."

"You know a better answer would have included the words gorgeous, sexy, and wife." She smiled.

Maxwell chuckled again. "Well, that goes without saying." He thought about it some more as he pulled the covers over himself and Fran. "It just came over me – my desire for you couldn’t be contained. I had thought I was only ravenous for food. All I had was a cinnamon bun with a cup of coffee from this morning. It was so hectic today so I was looking forward to what Niles had prepared."

"Mmmhmm," he murmured drowsily as sleep began to overtake him. "That and a cookie I pilfered from the kitchen."

Maxwell didn’t answer. Their activity had drained him and he was softly snoring. Fran soon closed her eyes as well and the room filled with their even breathing.

Niles’ mouth gaped open as he watched Maxwell man-handling Fran with much ardor and ferocity. It was so unlike him! Being so close he couldn’t help hear every word and of course because of his prior Yenta training his ears were able to pick up even the whispered innuendos.

He and CC watched as Maxwell picked up Fran and rushed out like he was some dashing rogue who had his woman to do with what he will, no argument. Fran’s eyes sparkled with excitement, entirely agreeable.

His blue eyes turned towards the laughing blond and if her eyes weren’t closed with mirth she would have caught how his vivid orbs darkened with desire as he watched what he most coveted look so utterly enticing.

He watched her red lips part as another laugh issued out and he imagined how soft they would feel against his. Just a hint of her tongue was seen and he almost groaned as his reflections delved into more explicit thoughts. He was so enchanted that he didn’t realize that CC had stopped laughing and was looking at him with curiosity.

In those two seconds, CC felt her heart thunder in her chest, for Niles didn’t know it, but his heart was shining brightly in his eyes as he watched her.

He shook himself from his trance and felt heat rise on the back of his neck at being caught. Immediately he pulled a remark from the recesses of his brain - kept there for just such an emergency. "This from the woman nicknamed Sprint."

"I’d love to Miss Babcock, but together we wouldn’t fit through the French doors."

Her mouth quickly opened to retort back, only to shut as fast. She thought about what Fran had said earlier. She saw how Fran was just now and she knew exactly what Fran was doing at that very moment. And suddenly CC was tired of dipping her toes and wading in waist high. She was tired of standing on unsteady sand. She wanted the whole beach experience. The waves crashing and the highs and lows of finally immersing oneself in life. A real life. Not one that she fashioned for herself because she was afraid of finally taking that last step towards fulfillment only because it brought an unsure, unknowing future. No wonder she was bored with her life after her work was done. It was too steady. It was a running brook with no curves and bends. It wasn’t a life at all and the years were passing her by. She had to do something.

Niles felt his pulse increase. She was acting unlike herself and actually touched him in a gentle manner. Maybe it was finally happening. Maybe she finally realized that they were meant to be together. Then he mentally shook his head at himself. His silly daydreams and fantasies were catching up to him. He refused to let his running thoughts stumble through that marathon of pain again. It was another game, another trick. It had to be.

She sat down on the couch and nodded at him to do the same. Niles may have looked calm and collected, but inside his nerves were tying up his vocal cords and so he sat without comment.

CC looked at him and began to talk matter-of-factly. "I don’t want any interruptions so sit here and listen."

That brought him out of his reverie and challenged his fighting spirit. But just as he opened his mouth to retort, CC brought her two fingers up to his mouth. Just the touch of her soft skin against his lips excited him and he clasped his hands together upon his lap and managed to nod.

"Today Fran and I had an interesting discussion. We were comparing each other’s lives to one another. It opened my eyes somewhat. But now… after what transpired in the dining room, I know what to do." Her sandal dropped as she turned towards Niles and so she tucked her bare foot underneath herself, her other foot dangled in front, toes pointed to the rug. She went on.

"I realized that my life has become too predictable. I don’t like the fact that unlike my business life, I’ve been too afraid of taking chances in my personal one…"

Niles visibly gulped. It can’t be. She’s referring to something else. She’s probably going to tell me about her new boyfriend and wants to rub it all over my face. He took a deep breath to steady himself for the bad news and continued to listen.

Niles was actually listening and it surprised her. CC hurried to finish what she wanted to tell him before Maxwell and Fran could come downstairs and interrupt another important moment in her life.

"All these years, I’ve dated men who I would immediately measure up against someone important to me and each one was found wanting. I wanted someone who wasn’t intimidated by my name and money. Likewise, I wanted someone who didn’t want me because of them. What I want is someone who can challenge my intellect as well as my imagination. Someone who can make me laugh. And just as importantly, someone who can make my body burn with hunger, crave for his touch, and yearn for his kisses."

As CC talked, her body leaned towards Niles. With each sentence, Niles was drawn to her and soon their eyes were riveted to each other. CC noticed again how his eyes changed color depending on his emotions. Powder blue for his tranquil moments like when he cooked or read the paper. Sky blue when he joked and more vivid when he let out a particularly good zinger. And now they were getting darker, electric.

Lips touched lips soon after. CC wanted to look at him, but feeling his arms tightly wrap around her body overwhelmed her so much that all she could do was wrap her arms around his neck and hold on. The kiss, unlike the one they shared in this very room, was gentle. Achingly so and his hands moved around her back as carefully as if she were a crystal treasure.

Niles was sure this had to be a dream. Maxwell was acting quite unlike himself and now so was CC. Maybe he was in the kitchen having another heart attack while everyone was waiting for him to serve in the dining room. Whatever it was, he was going to enjoy it, but with kid gloves before it disappeared like wisps of air. Just like all the other dreams he’d had that were like this one.

He deepened the kiss and the soft warmth of his tongue against hers pulled needs and desires from her core that she’d been waiting to release for him. Only for him.

Her hands, following the lead of her heart, caressed his neck and felt the pounding pulse of his throat. Her fingers brushed his hair and then held onto his face, not wanting to let him go.

His arms pressed her more tightly against himself and she felt the hardness of his chest crushing against her breasts. The intensity of her need consumed her, shook her, and even terrified her. She hoped for a long scare.

Niles moved his lips from her mouth to her cheek. "Babcock, is this really happening?" he breathed. "Or are you going to disappear on me and I’ll find myself alone in bed again?" He kissed her neck, nuzzled, and breathed in the wonderful scent of his beautiful CC.

"I meant what I said Niles," CC whispered, her eyes closed, her body shuddered from the sensations he was invoking with his caresses. Hell even his breath was tightening the need in her body and all she wanted to do was throw him on the couch and get him naked.

"Right back at you," CC retorted and kissed him again. She ran her tongue lightly against his lower lip and smiled at the moan it brought forth from him.

"I knew you would drive me crazy," he continued, "and you do. Absolutely, irreversibly, incurably crazy."

"You didn’t have to do anything. Not one thing. All you had to do was stand there and I nearly lost control."

"So it was either heckle me or love me?" CC grinned at him. "Which do you prefer?"

He chuckled softly as he framed her face with his hands. "Can’t I do both at the same time?"

"I don’t know… are you sure you’re able to do more than one thing at a time? You are much older than me, you know."

"En garde." The kiss was hungry, probing. His arms closed around her waist once again and for a moment CC felt unbalanced on the cushion, but he supported her suddenly with arms as steady and strong as steel. His hands moved up and down the contours of her back, around her sides and dangerously close to her breasts. The gentle, circular motions of his hands were playing havoc with her body and she wanted to rip the buttons off her tailored white shirt and expose herself to him.

But before she knew it, Niles had her body cradled in his arms and up the stairs to his room. He closed and locked his door, leaning her body against it as his hands molded the soft curves of her hips. His mouth opened and closed on hers, making her gasp with need, awakening that appetite that she knew existed only for him. At her quiet moan, he pulled his face back and looked at her. Her eyes were smoky, heavy-lidded, eloquent, and telling him that her need was just as great as his.

Swiftly he helped undress her, his fingers unbuttoning and unzipping. Then he watched her pull off her collared shirt and step out of her long dark skirt and soon she stood before him in dainty lace underwear. He gulped at the beauty before him. No nonsense, business-like clothes on the outside and on the inside, sin incarnate.

CC watched beneath half-closed eyelids. "I think one of us is a bit over dressed in this room - what do you think?" she purred.

The huskiness of her sexy voice really got to him. He pulled off his suit jacket and let it slide down to the floor. After pulling off his tie and tossing it over his shoulder, his fingers hesitated on the first button as he watched CC slowly dip her fingers past her belly button and beneath the band of her lacy green underwear.

"I’ll keep going if you do," she purred once again, getting so turned on at knowing her effect on Niles.

Niles unbuttoned the first five holes of his shirt quickly and watched her fingers go even deeper under the fabric.

She couldn’t help but be flattered at his reaction. Her teeth flashed at him, in embarrassment and joy.

Niles was being poetic with her. There were so many sides to him. At a loss at what to say to something so sweet, she teased him. "Is that a line you’re throwing at me Niles? Is that something you say in front of your mirror each morning when you practice that sincere sexy expression of yours?"

Then he cupped her chin and traced her lips with his thumb. "But when I look in that mirror I think of you and only you." He pushed the hair out of her face and her skin tingled where his fingers grazed her cheek.

She gulped and all her childhood fantasies came to mind. "Are you my knight in shining armor, Niles?"

He shook his head slowly and for a moment her heart hurt so much, the pain lancing so deep, that she couldn’t think.

He spoke, enchanting her with his soft voice and intriguing words. "No, CC. A knight in shining armor is not for you. You need someone who knows what to do with a woman like you. Knights in shining armor have too many other things to think about. All those dragons to fight, all those battles to win. While someone like me would rather concentrate my attentions on you."

CC’s gaze dropped to his lips, which were moving towards hers. She wet her own, "Is that right?" she whispered, trying to sound sarcastic, but her quavering voice gave her away.

The kiss was hungry, probing, proving the words he’d just spoken. It left her wanting more. She gently pushed him away and hooked her thumbs into the band of her panty. She looked him straight in the eye, "Together at the same time?"

Niles nodded dumbly, struck at what was about to be revealed to him. He hooked his thumbs under the band of his boxers and together they exposed themselves to each other’s gaze.

"So beautiful," he murmured drawing her into his arms and kissing the underside of her jaw.

Her head fell back allowing him to trail kisses down her throat to her collarbone. CC’s hands knotted in his hair holding his head in place.

She sighed his name, dropping her hands to rest on his shoulders. "Niles... I need... you."

He pulled back and looked into her blue-grey eyes. An indefinable spark that always flared between them was now a raging inferno. CC reached up and roughly grabbed two handfuls of his hair, pulling his mouth to hers. He captured her lips in his, sucking and biting. The kiss was brutal, bruising, as they clutched at each other.

Niles turned her around and pushed CC onto her back upon his bed and followed her down, never letting go, seeking the heat of contact with her body. His torso and legs burned with the fire that was CC. He ran his hands down her sides.

He grasped her hips. She locked her feet behind him resting that same inquisitive foot on his ass, the heel dragging up and down his backside. There was a fleeting question about where she learned to do that, and concluded for his own peace of mind that she was operating on pure instinct.

CC whimpered and clung to him matching his actions, meeting his strokes and settling into a ferocious, pulsing rhythm.

That did it. His voice saying that to her was too much. Her cries rose in intensity and volume while he concentrated on what he was doing, watching her face all the while. Her eyes opened wide just when he felt her muscles tensing. Their moans intensified and concluded in long drawn-out, fulfilled sighs.

Niles collapsed next to her, greedily gulping air. He lay quietly, one ear resting over her heart. It thundered under his cheek as they rested for a few minutes.

That perked him up. "Too?" He moved up and rested his head upon his pillow and covered their naked, glistening bodies with the blankets. Then he pulled her towards himself and drew her close. She settled against his chest, gave him a tight hug and then sighed in contentment.

It certainly felt right and Niles was rapidly losing the battle to stay awake, but then something she said earlier popped into his head. "How did you know that I was in love with you?"

His eyebrows rose in puzzlement and the energy that took nearly broke him. "Well, it was right," he tightened his arm around her.

One shared soft kiss and soon he was asleep and CC closed her eyes, a smile upon her face.

Fran woke up from a luxurious sleep. She sat up and yawned, smacked her lips a few times as she raised her arms up to stretch. Another yawn escaped and still feeling too tired to open her eyes, she dropped her head back onto the pillow. A smiled stretched on her face as she felt a strong arm drop over her stomach, fingers tucking themselves around her hip. It reminded her of how forceful Max was last night and she was hoping for another replay this morning. And from the way Max was running his fingers up and down her body, it looked like he was thinking along the same lines. Fran rolled onto her side and felt his arm hang companionably around her body as he rolled over to face her. Then as she stretched her face up to kiss him, she opened her eyes and immediately pulled back.

She saw how hurt he became. His face ashen. Then his eyes became pointy glints of anger.

Fran was confused. Never had Niles, her best friend, ever looked at her like that! And wow, was that all him that she saw raising the covers like a tent stake a moment ago?! She shook her head, trying to clear it. "I don’t understand what’s going on. Why do you keep calling me CC? The last thing I remember last night was going to bed with Max."

Niles jumped out of his bed as if she burnt him with a cauldron of oil. Fran’s eyes were agog at seeing his nude body.

"Niles… what?..." She watched him walk over to his closet and wrapped himself in his blue robe. Then she saw her reflection on his mirror and screamed.

Maxwell sat up straight in bed and looked around. What the hell was that?! Then he heard it again – more screaming.

"Sweetheart… darling… wake up. Did you perchance leave the telly on downstairs?" Maxwell patted Fran’s shoulder.

CC rubbed her eyes and smiled as she felt Niles touching her. Thoughts of their lovemaking last night entered her thoughts and CC shook the tendrils of sleep from her mind.

"Darling, we need to investigate what all that screaming is about. It sounds like CC."

Why did Niles sound like Maxwell? She was about to tease him about disguising his voice as she slowly opened her eyes and reached for him, wanting to feel him. Then she saw her lover.

"What the…?!" CC pulled the covers over her chest. "Maxwell! Is there really something that important going on with the play that you have to wake me up in bed?!"

"What are you talking about, Fran? I’m trying to tell you about those screams… there! There goes another one – did you hear it?"

A strong scream pierced the air and then running footsteps were heard outside in the hallway. The door burst open and CC screamed when she saw herself running into the room followed by a distraught Niles.

Niles picked up Fran and placed her onto the bed next to CC. Maxwell covered them with the blankets. They were both still out and Maxwell and Niles exchanged looks of perplexion.

"What happened, old man?" Maxwell rubbed the back of his neck, at a loss what to do.

"Oh, worse than that sir. She was, as the children put it… freaking out." He sat down at the foot of the bed, worried. "I don’t understand any of this."

"Splendid idea sir and I believe I have smelling salts downstairs in the first aid kit." His blue eyes worriedly gazed at CC as he moved agitatedly out of the room. How could such a beautiful night, a night filled with his conscious and even unconscious wishes, turn into a morning of hellish proportions? As he rushed down the stairs he tried not to think about the look of shock and dismay on CC’s face, but his heart cracked at the memory.

"I don’t understand any of this," he mumbled dispiritedly to himself. He wanted to be angrier with her, but the horror of watching her collapse and blacking out won over. Could it have been some twisted joke on her part? Was she just funnin’ with him? But then why all the screaming and then suddenly crumpling and passing out? So many questions twirled and swooped inside his mind that he mentally swatted them away. Right now the important thing was to make sure CC and Fran were well then… well then afterwards he would take CC over his knee and swat her for scaring him so much!

Thoughts of his hand rubbing against CC’s delicate bum, watching it redden after contact and hearing CC first groan with initial pain and then moan in desirous delight, looking back at him coquettishly with that sexy smile of hers…

"That’s it old man, you are deranged! Your woman is lying sick upstairs and here you are having dirty thoughts!" He grinned slowly and reminded himself to share the thought with CC, knowing she of all people would appreciate it.

Upstairs Maxwell put his robe on and left the room. He gave the women one last anxious look before closing the door behind himself.

They turned to look at each other, Fran opened her mouth to scream only to have CC cover it before a sound could come out. CC then dropped her hand and they looked at each other.

"Ouch!" Fran scowled as she rubbed her sore arm. "I was just trying to see if you were an alien life form or something."

Then Fran perked up, "I know! It was a twinkly night last night. Did you see the first star and make a wish to be me?"

CC snorted. "Believe me if I had a wish to make, being you wouldn’t make the list!" She reached over to the nightstand and picked up a handheld pearl handled mirror. She turned her face to one side and then the other, looking at her reflection. "This is amazing!"

Fran smiled, "Thank you. There’s this Avon cucumber face wrap you have got to try! Makes my face wrinkle free."

"Well, how else can you explain this? What mystical force is the reason for this horrendous problem?"

"Heyyy - being me is not that bad…. You’re lucky you didn’t morph into Yetta! That woman has such a gas problem – you could be sitting there right now sounding like you’re idling an engine."

CC handed Fran the mirror. Fran grimaced at her reflection then raised her nose and stretched her upper lip down.

CC grabbed the mirror from her and tossed it back on the nightstand. A box of Mallomars crammed on the corner fell onto the bed.

Fran’s eyes widened with realization. "It must have been those cookies Mr. Foo gave us yesterday!"

"What?! Oh come on, Niles is my friend, it’s not like that! But who knew his nickname coulda been Mr. Ed!"

Then Fran realized something, "Wait a minute… those cookies made us switch bodies and I woke up in bed with Niles! You and Niles?!"

CC grinned, "Me and Niles." Then she scowled, "This couldn’t have happened at a worse time."

Fran gulped, knowing CC’s temper. "Well, I woke up expecting to see Max and seeing Niles really threw me for a loop…"

"So I told him the last thing I remember was being in bed with Max and he got so hurt and then so angry. I’ve never seen Niles look at anybody with so much hatred."

"Of course they’ll believe us." Fran felt so bad when CC looked up at her, tears staining her cheeks. "It’s not that far-fetched is it?"

"They’ll lock me up in the loony bin and Maxwell will think that you’re nuts because you’ve been trying so hard to have a baby. He’ll refuse to touch you until he thinks you’re better."

CC nodded in agreement as she wiped her cheeks with her fingers. "In the meantime we have to pretend that I am you and you are me. We can’t tell them anything. This thing with Niles is too new, I don’t want to scare him away."

"Okay." The sheet slipped and Fran looked down at her bare chest. "Wow, look at that!"

"We need to agree on one more thing until we see Mr. Foo," Fran said as she adjusted the sheet around herself.

"CC, are you okay?" Niles asked worriedly, hurt still apparent in the way he asked and from the color of his eyes.

The promise between the two women was forgotten at the sight of their men. Without thinking, they jumped out of bed and into their arms.

Niles managed to extract himself, but Maxwell was having a more difficult time. Fran had her legs wrapped around his waist.

Fran finally slid down in defeat while CC stood there and rolled her eyes. As the women stepped back, the men really looked at them and stared. Fran and CC looked at them in frustration, then noticing that they were being stared at, looked down at themselves and jumped under the covers.

"Umm… sorry… the fainting must have messed up our eyesight," Fran clumsily explained.

Maxwell was confused. "Darling… your woman? Do you mean to tell me that you and CC… CC and you… are… ? He stopped, not able to finish.

Niles grinned. If CC could say that to Max then she wasn’t ashamed of what they did last night. There must be a good explanation for everything that transpired.

Noticing Niles’ reaction, "Excuse us," CC said and pulled Fran over. Cupping both hands over Fran’s ear and whispering so quietly so that even Niles couldn’t eavesdrop, "You need to make sure that Niles knows that I want him and not Maxwell."

CC grimaced, "Okay, some touching might be needed, but try to come up with an excuse when he tries to kiss you."

Maxwell watched them with much trepidation, afraid that they may scream again. "I tried to call the doctor, but his receptionist told me that he was teeing off on one of the Caribbean Islands that he owns."

Willing to put aside what happened earlier now that CC wasn’t unconscious or screaming, Niles smiled at her. "We’re very worried about you two," Niles remarked, placing the first aid kit on the ground.

Niles smiled, cautiously relieved. Then he excused himself, "I’ll be a moment." He left the room.

Maxwell needed answers. "Fran, what happened? Why did you scream? What made you faint?"

"Oh, that’s right." She snapped her fingers. "Malnourished. Look at me, skin and bones. It’s a wonder those tight clothes I’m always wearing have anything to cling to."

"So you fainted because you’re hungry?" Maxwell asked. "Would you like something to eat?"

"I was asking Fran, CC. But if you would like something as well I’m sure Niles wouldn’t mind whipping something for the both of you."

Niles walked in carrying his maroon robe. "Here you go, CC. I’m sure you don’t want to lie down there any longer." He opened the robe and turned to make sure Max couldn’t see anything.

CC looked at Fran. Fran looked at CC. CC sighed. Fran shrugged and stepped into the robe and wrapped the belt around herself.

Niles laughed. "Come on then." He wrapped his arm around her waist and led her out.

Maxwell still couldn’t believe that turn of events. He looked over at Fran to ask her if she wanted to go downstairs as well and was surprised to see the anger on her face.

Maxwell took her flower covered white robe off the hook from behind the door and stood there.

A sly grin transformed his face from the man CC had always known to a man with more hidden depths.

Max glided over, and wolfishly grinned at her. "Sweetheart, you haven’t called me Maxwell this much since last night when…" he sat down on the bed and slid his hand along the sheet covered side of her thigh, up to her hip, and then forcefully pulled her closer.

His drawled huskily, "When I had you ‘Oh-Goddding’ all over the place." He turned to nuzzle her neck.

CC covered her lips with her hand. "I couldn’t do that to you, Maxwell, and you know I’m feeling quite peckish. I’d like my robe now."

CC hurriedly escaped from within the confines of the covers and into the robe. Maxwell with his eyes still closed pursed his lips in her general direction. With her hands on her hips, she stared at him, stumped at what to do next.

He watched her, perturbed. "I must make sure that Fran eats right. I wouldn’t want her to faint again. She acts strange enough without that happening."

As the adults sat around the small table in the kitchen, the children came trickling in.

"Hi!" Maggie greeted. "Well, Brighton was close by and we thought we would get Gracie on our way home." She picked up a banana from the fruit bowl.

Fran jumped up with concern on her face. She ran up and gave her a hug, "Sweetie what’s wrong?"

Gracie pulled her head back and stared up at who she thought was CC with a startled look on her face. Maggie stopped in mid-chew at the sight and Brighton’s eyes widened.

That surprised Fran. Normally, Gracie told her everything. "I really want to help, sweetie."

Gracie’s eyes rose and she whispered over to her brother. "What’s that thing on CC’s face?"

Ever the polite child, Gracie turned back and said, "I’ll be okay. I just need to talk to my mom about it."

Everyone turned to CC who was busy chewing. As she forked a little salsa over her Spanish omelette, she noticed the inactivity and silence in the room. "What?"

"Darling, I think Grace needs advice," Maxwell covered part of her arm with his hand and gave it a gentle squeeze.

CC looked over at the children, her eyes bounced from Maggie to Grace, then to Fran.

Surreptitiously, Fran pointed to Gracie for her and CC nodded slightly back. Her chair scraped the floor and she rose from her seat and walked over to the brunette-haired girl. Stiff-armed, she patted young Grace on her shoulder, "What’s wrong kid?"

The young girl gave her a bewildered look and then shrugged. "Well, Tricia says that I can’t go out with Everett because she saw him first."

Maxwell interrupted before CC could say anything. "Out… what do you meant out?" His throat suddenly felt dry and he picked up his glass.

"I think you called it ‘shackin-up’ in your day dad," Brighton tried to help.

Maggie smacked her brother on the arm. "He asked her out on a date dad. It’s no big deal."

"Little, she’s taller than me!" said Fran then amended it and pointed at CC, "her!"

"Oh, calm down Maxwell," CC said then turned to Grace. "If he asked you out and not her, then he’s not interested in her. It doesn’t matter if she saw him first or not."

CC waved her hand over her shoulder. "Whatever. Your days of ‘Duck, Duck, Goose’ are over. The person tapped doesn’t have to go to the first tap-pee. If you like him and he likes you then if Tricia was a real friend she would step aside and be happy for you. If she continually harasses you and tries to make you feel guilty, you’re better off without her."

Gracie’s face lit up with a smile and hugged CC tightly. "Thank you so much! I’m going to call her right now for a heart to heart and then I’ll call Everett and tell him yes!"

A warm, nurturing feeling swelled up in her body. CC awkwardly patted the girl’s back and then stepped away. "No problem."

Maxwell walked behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist. CC stiffened at the unexpected contact while Fran looked on helplessly.

Niles sidled over to Fran and rubbed his shoulder against hers a couple of times. "I don’t know about that sir. I know someone who fits into that category although she’s so old that when she was born, the Dead Sea was just getting sick."

"Oh yeah," Fran said, "Um, well…" she looked at CC who gave her an encouraging nod. "You’re so old that… that robe of yours…is… uhh… full of moths!" Fran ended triumphantly.

They both walked out of the kitchen and into the dining room and then walked back in seconds later.

Fran looked at Niles, "Okay, I’ve got one now. You’re so old, you DJ’d at the Boston Tea Party."

"Like you mentioned before, there’s a rhythm to these things," Niles kissed her cheek. "But an ‘A’ for effort!"

Now that the children were gone both men became more amorous, wanting to cuddle.

CC broke away from Maxwell’s arms. "I-I have to go…. We have to go." She pulled on Fran’s arm and took her away from Niles’ clutches.

"But sweetheart, after last night, do you really think we need anymore?" He whispered into her ear, trailing a kiss down her throat.

Fran looked squeamish and turned to CC. "You have a bloody cold sore? Uch! I’ve heard of them getting big and sore, but bloody..."

"Not bloody as in blood, but…" Maxwell began to explain, but stopped himself and looked from his wife to his business partner. "You both are acting quite peculiar."

"And why do you need to go with Mrs. Sheffield, CC? I had other plans for us," Niles wondered.

CC saw the gleam in his eye, but she also noticed the cautious shadows. He deserved an explanation about that morning and she wanted to assure him that he was all she wanted, but the timing wasn’t right.

Niles leaned towards Fran so that they could make their excuses and leave the room, but she noticed and immediately began to rub the side of her lip.

"You know… I think I’m starting to feel a cold sore comin’ in as well," she told Niles.

"But how did you get one? They could be passed on through shared use of a cup, perhaps an eating utensil, but the dishwasher is at the hottest setting." And because old suspicions die hard, he jealously looked at Maxwell then back at Fran, "Unless you’ve been kissing…"

Fran’s eyes bounced around and looked at CC for help, she simply shrugged back. "Because… um… because…" She snapped her fingers, "Nanny Fine told me that her raspberry lip balm tasted much better than my strawberry one. I told her no way could it taste better than strawberry! So we tested it."

"Because you can’t get the full effect that way. We were being scientific." CC smiled, congratulating herself for her quick wit.

Then Fran rapidly smacked her lips a few times. "She was. We really should go now." She grabbed CC’s hand and they practically bolted out of the kitchen and out the front door. Then they stopped, looked at their attire, sighed in resignation and turned towards the stairs to change. CC spotted her sandal by the couch and nabbed it before following Fran up the steps.

"I had to. It gave us a chance to escape. Didn’t you see how it put them in a daze? When men see women kissing it’s like deer staring at headlights."

"Okay – where is HE?!" CC looked menacingly around, pointing her pepper spray out.

Fran pushed down CC’s hand. "Stop it! You’re not Police Woman ya know!" Then she turned to the Asian lady. "We need to talk to your husband."

A silvery curtain that separated the back room from the store parted and he walked in only to back-up again as CC strode towards him, obvious malicious intent with every step.

"It brought catastrophe, you imbecile! I finally get the man of my dreams and you switch my body with hers!" she pointed her thumb over her shoulder at Fran.

"Mr. Foo, I want my body back," Fran pleaded and then held strands of blond hair away from her head. "Look at me – split ends!"

Mrs. Foo nodded, "She taught me everything she knows. You know, the Farrah style is coming back."

"Don’t you touch a hair on that head!" CC ordered and then back to Mr. Foo. "You need to change us back."

"All I need is a cookie – any cookie!" CC said desperately, "Chocolate chip, peanut butter… snickerdoodles! Do I have to mug a Girl Scout because I’ll do that!"

"Mr. Foo, you must help us!" Fran begged. "How am I suppose to get pregnant in this body?!"

"I did," Fran frowned, "but it didn’t make sense. I put it in my purse." She opened her white purse with the pressed yellow daisy on the front and rummaged through it.

"I didn’t read mine. I think I threw it away… wait, no… it’s in my pocket."

"Found it!" Fran said triumphantly just as CC rooted inside her skirt pocket. "What are ya doing?"

"I put the fortune inside the skirt I was wearing yesterday. Which is the one you’re wearing today since I never went home to change. Here it is."

CC opened her hand, "He who knows does not talk. What the hell is this? Some kind of Riddle of the Chinese Sphinx?"

"Each cookie is preordained. You both must understand your fortunes and only then will things change. Remember, the flower and thorn are on the same stem."

"Ya know… did you have to go to some kind of school for that? Math - first period. History - second. Nutty talk, third." Fran had to ask as she clutched the small slip of paper in her hand.

"I’m sorry, that is all I can tell you. You must go now." Mr. Woo turned the ‘Open’ sign around to ‘Close’.

"Oh yes, important business we must attend to," Mrs. Woo said seriously as she lit two candles near a big Buddha statue, closed her eyes and then said a few words.

"No. There is a sale at Loehmann’s – 40% off all shoes. I was praying for your enlightenment and bad karma to befall other shoe shoppers."

"Oh my God, I can’t believe I forgot about that!" Fran’s eyes bugged out. "It’s all a lie – blonds don’t have more fun!"

CC shrugged. "I guess we try to figure out what our fortunes mean so we can get our lives back. Otherwise we could be stuck in each other’s bodies for years."

Fran panicked and grabbed CC’s shoulders. "We have to figure it out and soon! I can’t go on like this. What do we do?!"

"Will you stop shaking me?!" CC jerked away. "I’m not a Magic 8 Ball," she proceeded to pull down the tight bright yellow skirt she was wearing. "Don’t you have any decent clothes in your closet?"

Fran ignored her and then her face lit up. "Ooo!" Her pace picked up and she walked ahead of CC.

Moments later, CC caught up with her and pulled the hotdog from out of her mouth. "Are you crazy?!"

"My parents live right there. We can think and stay away from Max and Niles at the same time."

Sylvia opened the door and before she could greet her daughter, Fran ran into her arms and cried.

Her mother jumped away and walked quickly around the couch. She looked right at CC, "Fran, why is she acting so weird?"

Fran dropped forlornly on the plastic-covered couch. She folded her arms over her chest and laid her head back in defeat.

"Yeah," Fran explained to CC. "Ya schmear it underneath so you can slide right off. Takes care of that sticking problem real good."

"What’s wrong, Fran, aren’t you feeling well? Do you have a fever? You’re acting really strange," then she whispers loudly, "Miss Babcock seems to be out to lunch too… speaking of lunch… you have got to try this roast!"

They watched Sylvia run into the kitchen and placed a platter on the kitchen counter.

Sylvia looked at her strangely again, but the aroma drifting from the roasted meat caught her attention. "I took it from my brother’s house to get even. He didn’t like the fruit jello I brought. I worked so hard on it too!"

"What hard," Fran cut in, "you never use fresh fruit, ya opened a can. Then you boiled water, mixed in the gelatin powder, then the fruit and you stuck it in the refrigerator for an hour."

"Two with your size eleven feet. You schlepped to the stove then to the refrigerator."

"Are you going to let that woman attack your poor mother like that," Sylvia implored CC for help.

"Oy!" Fran got up and together with CC headed towards the hallway. "We’re going to her old room to talk."

A poster with Erik Estrada on one wall and John Travolta on another decorated Fran’s childhood room. They both fell upon separate twin beds and sighed.

"Because I use to share this room with Nadine. And we only have one bathroom, it’s in the hallway. If you want to use it let me know, I’ll need to teach you the secret knock for faster service."

"Yeah, my dad is always hibernating in there but he’s a big ‘Three’s Company’ fan. So you have to sing the theme song and then knock and pretend you’re Mr. Roper. Doing the voice of Mr. Furley will work too, but that strains the nasal passages." Fran scrunched her nose then, "Any ideas yet?" she asked hopefully only to see herself shake her head back. It was still kind of freaky to see her face looking back at her.

"No… but I’m sure it has something to do with awareness of oneself and with those around us."

"Isn’t that how it always is? Maybe if we walk on rice paper without tearing it and call each other Grasshopper we’ll get enlightened."

"Don’t tell me the ultimate ‘70s couch potato never watched ‘Kung Fu’ with David Carradine?"

"It ran against ‘The Waltons’. There was something about John Boy’s mole that did something to me." She shivered.

"You watched a lot of TV when you were growing up." CC said matter of factly, kicked off her high heels and stretched on the bed.

"There wasn’t anything else to do." Fran turned around and stuck her bare feet up on the wall. "Miss Babcock, you’ve got to try this."

Skeptical, but willing to try anything that might help, CC twisted her body around, bent her knees and placed her feet flat against the wall. It felt odd and went against the rules she was taught, but she continued the conversation anyway. "What do you mean you didn’t have anything else to do? Didn’t you go out palling around with Val?"

"Val grew up in a strict Catholic Italian home. She had a curfew and so did I. My parents wanted me home where they could keep an eye on me." Fran turned at the surprised snort. "Share the funny."

"Oh, I’m not laughing. I always imagined you going out to the mall with Val and your other friends, hooting it up."

"Sometimes when it was canasta night, then my parents weren’t home." Fran did a tap dance on the wall. "That’s how I got away with getting a tattoo."

The door opened and Sylvia walked in carrying two metal TV trays. "I just went to the store and I thought you girls would like some cocoa."

"And I remembered the marshmallows this time, Frannie," Sylvia set the trays on their laps.

"Good?" Sylvia’s bangle bracelets jangled on her wrists as she poofed up her hair.

Sylvia smiled back and patted her leg. "If you want anything else just ask mammala."

Alone again, they shared a comfortable silence, each in their own thoughts. CC looked around the room, noticing the stuffed animals, a pom-pom, and trophies. With her mug in her hand, she walked over to a dresser and picked up a small framed photo. Mickey Mouse was squeezed in between the smiling Fine family. Each of them with their own mouse ears.

"That was some strict school you went to," Fran said before taking a sip of her cocoa.

CC walked around, placed her empty mug down, picked up a stuffed giraffe and sat back down on the bed, hugging it to her chest. "I took the lessons after my classes were done." As she recalled them out loud, she touched the tips of her fingers to her thumb, counting. "There was Equine Studies where I learned a variety of disciplines like Western, Jumping and the Hunt Seat and of course Conformation and Showmanship."

"No, the four P’s. Poise - where I was taught posture for walking and sitting. Telephone usage, conversation, thank you notes and demeanor. Prepared – this was about the proper use of cosmetics and its application, grooming, correct attire and nails. Polished – this taught us proper public speaking skills, dating, health issues pertaining to good health and care. And lastly, Politeness. That dealt with table manners and dining skills."

Fran’s mouth gaped. "You had to take a class to learn how to put on mascara and talk on the phone?"

"The proper way." CC sighed at the memory of her instructor who had a sharp tongue and an even quicker stick that was suppose to be used for pointing at the board, but more than less found itself being rapped against an errant student’s knuckles.

"Oh yeah, I had to learn the hard way. Never do them while driving with your elbows. The cops hate that!" Fran wanted to know more. She thought she knew Miss Babcock, but she was beginning to realize there was more to her. "What did you do for fun?"

"Riding my horse was fun. I preferred that to field hockey and swimming. And once I aspired to become a ballet dancer, but I was steered away because I kept growing."

"Ballet doesn’t seem that exciting to me," Fran remarked. "I was more into hip-hop and swing," she swung her hips and snapped her fingers.

CC’s eyes sparkled, "But it was exciting. It was adrenalin and passion, energy and sweat. It's Tchaikovsky, the Nutcracker. And it's Hamlet and Ophelia. It's musicians in the pit and dancers telling a story. I loved every minute of it."

CC attempted to arch her back in a bow and stretch her leg up high. She did it, but slowly, carefully and with much difficulty. "I thought you were in great shape," she grunted as she set her leg back down.

"I am for a regular person! But for a regular person who wants to be a pretzel, I’m not!"

"I could teach you some moves that would make Maxwell feel like he was in seventh heaven."

"Listen, my moves shoots him pass that floor all the way to the penthouse, baby!"

Sylvia poked her head in, "I hear laughing. You’re not making any crank calls in here are you?"

Fran tried to stop laughing and managed to make a loud, queer snorting sound, which made CC’s shoulders shake.

"Kids!" Sylvia said to herself and then the phone rang. She picked up Fran’s battered old pink phone. "Hello... Hi... you’re looking for Frannie? Uhh… you want to know if she’s here?"

Stalling for time, "Umm… if she wasn’t, what do you want me to tell her? … Uh-huh… uh-huh…" Sylvia covered her eyes with her hand. "No, I don’t see her here right now. I will… bye!" She hung up the phone and with her knuckles resting on her hip, "Why didn’t you tell me you were fighting with Max?"

Sylvia pointed her finger at her. "You see that you do. You’re not young anymore Fran, you can’t afford to mess up. Whatever your husband wants you to do, you do it."

But CC hadn’t. "So if he told me to say… run naked in Times Square, I should do it?"

"Yes… but bring an umbrella in case it rains." Sylvia closed the door after herself.

"Toe it, underscore it, exclamation point. And only if Max says to because God forbid if I make him upset and he should leave me." Fran groaned. "What would she tell the women at Temple if that ever happened? It would shame her. My ma is really good at shoveling out the guilt."

"So if you were to disappoint her, would she rip off her sleeve a la ‘Jazz Singer’ and disown you?"

"And ruin her outfit?" Fran laughed. "I don’t think my ma would ever disown me otherwise she would have to schlep herself to my sister Nadine’s house and their refrigerator is never stocked."

"My mother’s house before Maxwell and Niles comes over here sniffing around for us."

"They’ll be out of luck. It’s Sunday, which means Mrs. Leibowitz is making cabbage stew. That’ll plug anyone’s nose."

Fran stepped out of the taxi. Her eyes traveled up the limestone walls to the edge of the roof. "This is where you grew up?"

CC’s keyring jangled as she opened the heavy mahogany door. "All six floors of it."

Fran followed her in and couldn’t help noticing the glorious double staircase and the magnificent marble fireplace in between. Her fingers enjoyed the smoothness of a life-size sculpture. "This is gorgeous," she said in awe.

They both turned as quiet footsteps entered the foyer. It stopped a polite distance away.

Fran took in the dapper gentleman who stood looking at her inquiringly. He spoke with a deep, gloomy tone, his face pocketed with deep lines. She could almost see a dark rain cloud floating over his head.

Luckily, CC tutored her on the ride over. Trying to sound as snooty as possible, "No she is not because it was by perchance that it behooved me to come hither and visit my dear mother."

CC whispered in her ear, "This is not ‘Pride and Prejudice’ – take it down a notch. Ask about my mother."

Fran rubbed her stomach and smiled embarrassingly, "Why don’t you fix us something to eat? We are famished."

"Nobody. That’s usually how it is. Mother has four other homes that she frequents, but for some reason she holds onto this one and keeps it well-staffed. My old bedroom hasn’t changed since I left."

"Wait!" CC called out, trying to stop her mad dash up the stairs. She ran after her and almost bumped into her on the top step.

Fran was awestruck. Her eyes took in the two showy chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, the many art works that dotted the walls, and stared at the water flowing gently down a three tiered sculpture.

"Yes," CC said, "my mother loves the sound of running water inside. My father built it for her years ago."

CC grimaced, then. "Over here." She pushed a surprised Fran towards silver metallic double doors that opened nearby.

"Ah, now that’s what I’m talking about!" Fran sunk into the luxurious feathertop queen-size bed.

CC toed off her heels and laid back onto the French divan. "I loved this piece of furniture the most. Garrison would stoke the fire for me and I would spend hours with a good book."

Fran kicked off her shoes and looked around. She noticed the tasteful décor and the framed paintings of ballerinas on the wall. She noted the artist’s signature, "Degas… I knew an Albert De-gas from high school. Ya think this Edgar guy is related? I felt so bad for Albert. People would make those sounds at him whenever he passed by. You know like this," Fran stuck her hand under her armpit and flapped her arm around, emitting bathroom type noises.

Fran barely heard her. She was too busy snooping. "Is this the bathroom? Oh my God, I think I’m in love!" She twirled inside the humongous walk-in closet. After awhile she watched CC walk over to the fireplace and pull out a loose brick. Hiding inside was a small rectangular flat box. And inside that were cigarettes.

"No way! I quit that habit a long time ago." She took the box of cigarettes away. "I didn’t know your mother lived in the city."

Fran then watched her walk over to a bookshelf and pull out a massive leather covered volume. Then her eyes popped when the cover lifted and it was hollow. She shook her head as she watched CC pull out a bottle of bourbon. "What else are you hiding in here, Jimmy Hoffa?"

CC’s eyes scrunched as she began to take a swig only to have Fran grab it away.

Fran pursed her lips and thought about it. "Three scoops of ice cream when I’m really depressed. I go shopping when I don’t want to face up to something. And for those times when I’m in a bad mood – Mallomars – the best cookies in the world!"

"Cookies are what got us into this mess!" CC sat down on the divan. "My life and your life are completely different."

"I can’t believe you don’t know that. Practically everyone I know has parents who are divorced. You were an outcast if your parents weren’t. I was barely out of diapers when it happened. My dad was a Navy career man and he was rarely around. Unlike your life. You were surrounded by family. You know your cousins, your second cousins. Hell, you consider in-laws of in-laws part of the family. My family consisted of my brother Noel and me. My sister DD was in her own little world. Your parents have been married for years, you don’t understand what it’s like."

CC conceded, "It had its monetary rewards, but I knew I was missing out on something I just didn’t know what until you came along."

"But now your father is a successful business man and you’re not a little girl anymore."

"After a lifetime of not knowing somebody and barely talking to him, it’s kind of hard to start a conversation, let alone a new relationship."

"That’s where we’re both alike," Fran said, twisting the cap off and taking a big gulp of bourbon. She hissed as it burned down her throat. Her voice came out in a croak. "My dad," she looked at the bottle’s label, "how do you drink this stuff?! Anyway, like I was saying before I tried to poison myself, my dad was rarely around too."

"Yep… ‘McHale’s Navy’, ‘Hogan’s Heroes’…‘MASH’." Fran peered at the clock on CC’s nightstand. Then she reached over and picked it up. "It’s almost 5 o’clock. We better go home. Max and Niles must be really worried about us by now." She sat down on the bed and sighed.

CC walked over to the walnut framed stand-up mirror and stared at her reflection. "We can’t go home like this!"

"What else can we do? It looks like I’ll never have a baby!" Fran’s shoulders heaved as she tried to contain her emotions.

CC looked at her sadly and sat down next to her. She raised her arm up to put on Fran’s shoulders and then dropped it back down again, unsure of what to do. The situation was so foreign to her. Finally she reached out and patted Fran’s hand and Fran smiled at her through her tears.

When CC finally spoke, the sun was beginning to set. Her voice was as soft and gentle as the dusk falling around them. "You’ll get pregnant. Maybe you already are."

They turned as one and stared at each other, both pairs of eyes vying for paralysis. Fran slowly got up and picked up her purse. CC watched her take out a pregnancy test.

"I have your food ready, Miss. Would you like me to bring it in or set it up downstairs?"

They watched silently as the butler efficiently carried the heavily laden tray of food and drinks and set it upon the table in the sitting area of the room. He carefully set the table and pretended not to notice the tension in the room. "Will there be anything else, Miss?"

The coolness of the room made Fran shiver and she closed the window. Her eyes fell upon CC as she stood there deep in thought. "Maybe you better eat. You’re going to need your strength."

That brought her out of her reverie and CC nodded. They both sat down and ate, nourishing their bodies.

Fran shrugged and then the thought of CC experiencing the thrill of being pregnant with her child became too much and tears fell upon her face.

"Don’t cry, Fran, everything will be all right. It has to. We’ll figure this thing out and get back to our lives."

"Together we can get through this." CC said firmly, although her insides were quaking. She tried to put herself in Fran’s shoes. What the hell was she thinking - she was in Fran’s shoes! Okay, deep breaths… think about her and not yourself for once. With her voice soft, but sure. "I know that we haven’t spent much time alone together. And for a long time I resented you because-"

"Partly," CC agreed, "but mostly because of the way you walked into our lives and won everybody’s hearts. And as much as I hated it, I understood it. You’re a very giving person, Fran. And you’re brave."

"Very. It takes a courageous person to be so emotionally open. I’ve always admired that about you."

Fran’s lips parted into a smile. "Thank you. As long as we’re fessin’ up, I’ve always admired your no-nonsense manner. I think you’re brave because you can stand up to people and give them a piece of your mind. I hate confrontations. I usually have to fake like I’ve fainted just so I don’t have to fight someone for the last Versace belt."

The sun was waning, but suddenly it obliterated altogether and then they heard an eerie melodic note stringing together with other notes. They felt the room shake.

The music became louder, the shaking got stronger and it didn’t seem possible, but it also became darker. They had never seen such blackness. Then just as quickly as it happened, it all stopped. Fran and CC stood in CC’s childhood room, blinking and then staring at each other. Their eyes grew big and their smiles grew bigger. Their hands clasped one another’s and they began to jump around like madmen.

They stepped inside the mansion and in unison called out, "Honey – we’re home!"

Multitudes of footsteps came running in from the kitchen, through the dining room and down the hallway, with the head of the household out front. Just as he entered the foyer, he stopped abruptly causing a chain reaction of body collisions.

With arms snaked around each other’s shoulders, Fran and CC smiled at all the confused looks staring their way.

"Fran! CC! There you are! We’ve been out of our minds with worry!" Maxwell exclaimed, curiously eyeing the contented pair.

Niles stepped around him and walked towards a very happy CC. "Is everything okay? Where have you been?"

"Well, not the whole time," she answered him, "the rest of the time we’ve just been hanging out."

"Yeah," CC remarked, swinging a paper bag from her hand, "it was a gals’ day out on the town. Isn’t that right little buddy?"

"Mmm… I’ve missed you so much!" Fran pulled away from CC and wrapped her arms tightly around her husband. "It feels like forever since I last kissed you."

Maxwell grinned and kissed his wife again. "What about that cold sore you kept going on about?"

"Well," Fran whispered in his ear, "I suppose we could skip the kissing and move on to other fun and games!" She swung the small paper bag beguilingly at him and laughed as she pulled it away from his grasp.

Everyone else watched as Fran’s hand dipped inside the bag and pulled out a bottle of baby oil.

"Sweetheart I told you," Max said, "I don’t want to put plastic covers on the furniture. It sticks to me when I sit on it and I refuse to use that oil to get unstuck.

Maxwell’s face turned red, "Darling, not in front of the children." He saw Fran shake her head. "That’s not for me, is it?" He watched her shake her head again. And then his mouth gaped open. "You’re…?!"

The children shrieked with joy and soon there were five Sheffields jumping up and down.

The kids laughed. Maxwell grinned at his cheerful family and together they walked to the kitchen, chattering excitedly amongst themselves.

"And what about me?" Niles asked, locking his eyes with CC’s, drawing from her a sudden torrent of emotion.

CC smiled at him, enjoying his playfulness, but noticing the vulnerability in his eyes. She missed him so much and so she stood there, taking in the sight of him. His dark blond hair combed to the side. The etchings in his face that added character instead of age.

He cocked his head to the side at her silence, but noticing the tender looks. Reaching out, he took her hand and led her to the couch and despite it not being his house, he had come to think of that couch as theirs.

He seemed so serious all of a sudden. Wordlessly, with a slight raise of her eyebrow, CC asked him why. Nervously, he took her hand in his and caressed the top of it with his thumb. With a long exhaled breath of apprehension, "If I’m going to be in love with you, I need to know if you’re still in love with Mr. Sheffield."

"Am!" Niles rectified his remark. "I am in love with you CC, but…" his eyes glistened, "but your reaction this morning to seeing me in bed with you hurt more than you can know."

CC’s throat tightened with emotion and she rubbed his cheek with the sides of her fingers.

Niles sighed at the caress. His eyes closed for a moment, marveling that she was here with him, touching him like that.

"You don’t have to worry about Maxwell," she answered, gently cupping his cheek.

His arms reached around and tightened around her waist. "Why?" He needed to hear it.

Niles released a breath he didn’t know he was holding. After a long, quiet moment, he spoke softly in her ear, "So what are you going to do about that?"

CC chuckled. She loved this man so much! She whispered back, "I thought I would make sure that I never hurt you again. And I would make sure that you always believe that we belong together."

Niles pulled back. She surprised him. He expected amusing banter back, instead she opened herself up to him. With much emotion he pressed his face into her hair and squeezed her as if it might be the last time. He knew that the moment had come and feeling as if he was teetering upon a rope bridge on a gusty windy day, he took the first step on it. "CC, what do you want from me?"

He confessed, "I’m lonely when I’m not with you, CC. When you left today, I didn’t know what to do with myself. The day seemed darker."

"I was having these awful withdrawal pains," he said with a pained chuckle. "Do you understand that what we have is special?"

"I do. Two days ago I wouldn’t have believed this could happen between us. That anything, anyone would look at me the way you’re looking at me right now."

"I still find it overwhelming," she said with a weary exhalation of breath. "I worry that I’m just floating through some kind of fairy tale that can’t come true."

"I told you I wasn’t a knight in shining armor," he remarked. "I have too many faults."

"But ever since I was a little girl I dreamed I would be swept off my feet by one," she teased. "Looks like you’ll have to be my knight in tarnished armor," she whispered, running a finger in light circles on the nape of his neck.

A shudder ran through his body at the touch, his voice was deep. Husky with want. "I like the sound of that."

They looked at each other, an explosion of silence followed, then without saying a word they embraced each other.

CC felt a rush of love in every pore. His arms closed tightly around her, his hands molding to her rib cage. His lips made their way down her cheek, finding her mouth, which needed little coaxing to open and welcome him. She leaned into him and made an irritated noise at not being able to get as close as she wanted.

Niles chuckled and led her off the couch and invited her onto his lap. She straddled him eagerly, pressing herself against his body, feeling his hands exploring her as his tongue played games with hers.

CC jumped off of Niles’ lap and adjusted her clothing while Niles stood up and did the same.

He looked down at himself and cursed under his breath. CC found the whole thing amusing. She showed him what was inside her paper bag. He groaned at the sight of strawberry flavored massage oil.

He closed his eyes and tried to think of other things. He recited the recipe for Yorkshire Pudding in his head. Then thoughts of Julia Childs flitted into his mind.

Fran waltzed in, guiding Max who had his eyes covered. He peeked through parted fingers and sighed with relief.

"They went upstairs," Fran replied, "something about not wanting to be around the adults for fear of catching the ‘weird’ disease."

"I’d have to agree with them," Maxwell said, "you two didn’t start the day off on the right foot."

"You were gone so long that we went looking for you, but Mr. Foo said you had left hours ago." Niles remarked.

"He did give us these cookies for our troubles," Maxwell picked up two plastic wrapped fortune cookies that were lying on the end table. "We were so fretful that we forgot about them. Here you go, old man," he handed one to Niles.

"Aaaack!" Fran and CC lunged for the cookies and grabbed them from their hands before any damage could be done.

"We just want," Fran wheezed from the exertion as she threw the cookie into the small trashcan next to the couch.

"To spend time with our honeys," CC filled in, throwing the other cookie to join its pair.

Both women touched their respective mates in the respective spots that would take their attentions away. As they walked up the stairs, into the hallway and to their own rooms, no one noticed the front door open.

Sylvia looked around, her face in studied perusal. "Where the hell is everybody?"

"Maybe they’re in the kitchen and if they’re not at least we’ll be in there which is much better than being in here."

"You don’t need to be in the kitchen," Yetta remarked as she took slow, careful steps.

Sylvia scowled at her and then her face quickly contorted into a grimace. Her hand waved in the air. "Ma! I told you not to eat so much cheese."

"Why not?! It helps me walk faster. Like rocket power." Yetta walked past her daughter and noticed the light from the lamp shining on something inside the trashcan. She reached in and picked them up. "Look – this must have fallen from the end table."

They looked at each other, shook their heads and quickly ripped open the plastic wrap. At the same moment, the front door opened. In walked Morty Fine.

"Okay, okay, keep your shirt on. Do you know how hard it is to find a parking spot over here?"

Just then Yetta looked up at the figure walking down the steps. "Schmuey! Come here and give your Grandma Yetta a hug."

"Sorry, you still want some?" He opened his mouth and stuck his finger inside. "I barely chewed on it."

Yetta patted his shoulder. "Don’t you worry. I have one here for you." She whispered, "Eat it before they take it from you."

"What’s that weird song?" Morty asked, cocking his head to the side as he squinted into the shadows.

"It’s so dark in here all of a sudden," Morty complained, but as soon as he finished doing so, everything became lighter. And then lighter still.

"At the same time? No way! It’s against the odds that such a thing could happen. Believe me, I play the horses every week."

"Is that that new band I heard on the radio yesterday?" He looked up from the ground and his jaw dropped.

He groaned. "I’m comin’, I’m comin’!" He grabbed his throat. "I think I’m coming down with something. Do you have any cough medicine around here?" Morty waited for the kid to answer him. When he didn’t, he looked over at him.

I used The Nanny timeline for the pregnancy tests!
You might have noticed that this bears a (ahem) slight resemblance to a Disney movie, ‘Freaky Friday’.
And I sure hope it wasn’t too confusing to follow!
I’d like to thank my two betas – Aimee and Shannon – you guys rock! :oD