A New Found Love

by

Casey
(SingC25@aol.com)

Fran paced the living room floor in anxiety, As Max searched the upstairs frantically for his baby girl. Fran had called everyone she knew to see if they had seen Gracie. She hadn't been gone very long, but it was long enough to scare the hell out of Fran. Gracie had been like a daughter to her, and she loved her like her own.

Suddenly, Maxwell came thundering down the stairs. "She's not here! I've searched everywhere!"

"Whaddaya mean you've searched everywhere?!" Fran exclaimed. "If ya'd searched everywhere, ya woulda found her!" She was on the verge of a break-down. Her baby was missing.

"You call the police...I'll gather a search party." Max ordered.

At that moment, Niles entered the room. "Can I make a suggestion old man?" He inquired.

"Sure..." Max stated not quite sure what Niles was about to say.

Niles drew in a deep breath. "I don't think you should call the police just yet."

"Heh??!" Fran shouted. "What are ya talking about Niles?? HELLO...we're talking about Gracie here!!!"

"Well, what I mean is that...it really hasn't been very long, and she could still very well be at one of her friends' houses."

Brighton stumbled into the room, with Maggie close behind him. Her face was red from crying, and she hung her head. Brighton had heard very well what Niles had just said.

"Impossible." Brighton argued. "All of her friends are imaginary."

Fran's face turned red with anger. "BRIGHTON!!!" She screamed. "Your sister is missing and you have the chutzpa to make smart remarks like that??? What the hell's the matter with you???"

Brighton hung his head. He had never seen Fran this angry at him before. "Sorry." He muttered as he walked out of the room.

Fran saw how upset Maggie was and made her way over to put her arm around her, and her hand on her head to bring Maggie down to her shoulder. She stroked her hair reassuringly. "Honey, don't worry. We'll find ya sister." Fran sighed.

Fran always knew how to comfort Maggie. "Thanks Fran." Maggie quipped as she brought her head up..."I needed that." She looked down again. "But I feel like it's my fault."

"Oh, Honey." Fran started. "It's not your fault, it's not anyone's fault. You can help us search for ya sister if ya want." Her thick Queens accent was apparent.

Maggie nodded and walked up the stairs slowly. She stopped to turn around, "anything to find Grace." She sighed.

Fran had held it together for Maggie's sake, but didn't think she could do it much longer. She let a tear roll down her cheek and plopped down on the sofa, her face in her hands.

Max didn't like to see her so weak, so vulnerable, even though he, himself, felt the same way. He decided to go to her. He put his arm around her lovingly, and brought her head to his shoulder.

God I love to hold her. He thought to himself. She has no idea how much I love her, how I always long to hold her in my arms like this.

Fran had a few thoughts of her own. Oy, I love it when he holds me like this. He makes me feel so warm, so secure.

Max interrupted their flow of thoughts and feelings for each. "It was amazing how well you held it together for Maggie."

Fran looked up at him. "aw..." she tried to coo in her normal fashion, but she began to lose all control of her emotion.

Max didn't know what to do, so he pulled away from her reluctantly, "We have no time to waste. Let's go Fran." He sated simply.

Something of a smile spread across Fran's face. "You called me Fran."

"I did no such thing." Max argued.

"Yes ya did." Fran giggled.

"Well...well...I-I-I...It doesn't matter anyway." Max stammered. "Our child is missing."

When he realized what he had just said, his face was flushed of all color. "I mean my child is missing."

Fran smiled as he got himself deeper and deeper into this. But, she realized, they did have a child missing. Though she was hurt, she knew she could mess with his head later, once they had found Gracie.

"Alright." She agreed. "Let's go."

Once they were all in the car, C.C. was complaining to Niles. "I don't know why the hell I have to search for it anyway. It's not my child."

Niles knew that she had no idea which child was missing, let alone the name of the child. "Oh, you can't mean that. Poor little Tommy, all alone."

C.C. decided that now, since she "knew" the child's name, she could try to impress Maxwell.

"Where was little Tommy when you last saw him?" C.C. asked naively.

Niles tried to contain his laughter in the backseat, and Fran, who understood what was going on, had to laugh, even though the mood in the car was solemn and sad between her and Maxwell.

Maxwell remained serious. "C.C., we're searching for my daughter, Gracie."

"Ooh!" C.C. said as she had many times before, as she smacked Niles on the side of the head.

"Ow." Niles cringed.

They stopped in the parking lot of Gracie's therapist. It was likely that she was there, considering how much time she spent there, and, she liked it there.

Max and Fran searched every floor for her, as C.C. leaned against the car door, flask of whiskey in hand. Niles cocked an eyebrow at her as she guzzled the bottle and shoved it back in her pocketbook.

When Max and Fran exited the building, Fran had her head lowered and was most definitely not her usual perky self.

As they drove off, Maxwell started a sentence. "Miss-" he stopped himself before he would let something dumb come out.

"Wha?" Fran asked..."I know ya were gonna say Miss Fine...what do ya want?" She inquired.

C.C. had just enough whiskey in her to make an idiotic comment. "I bet he was going to say that if you get out of the car, that loud, oh so annoying voice of yours, would bring the child crawling home if you yell her name."

Fran cocked her eyebrow and turned to face C.C. "Very funny." She mocked sarcastically. "Well Mr. Sheffield, what were ya going to tell me?"

Max fought with himself inside his head. You can't do it old man. She'll never forgive you, you already have to get yourself out of another mess caused by your big mouth. Oh, but if it works, why not???I can't not have our...there I go again, my baby lost. But the what if I lose Fran???

He finally decided to just say it...he just might be able to get himself to of it later. "Well," he started, "Please, don't be angry Miss Fine-"

Fran cut him off. "You were gonna say the same ting as Miss Babcock weren't you??!!" She yelled. "Do you mean to tell me that if I get out of this car right now," she said as she stepped out, "and yell GRACIE that she's just gonna come running home? I-hi don't think so!" She had put an accent on her 'I' as she had many times before.

Just as she finished her sentence, she heard a small voice. "Fran!" Grace called.

"Just a second Gracie, I'm lecturing ya father about how..." She had finished processing what had jus happened and whirled around to see Grace standing behind her. She ran to her and threw her arms around her limply. "Oh Honey!!! You're home! Where the hell'd ya GO???!!" She yelled, half not meaning to.

"I was walking home from my therapist's office, and I wanted to stop at your mother's..." She explained.

"Ya wanted to stop at Ma's???" She questioned. "Hold on, lemme think about this...WHY??!" She screamed.

"I like your mother, P.S., she always has food!!!" Gracie laughed, "But then I got lost...and I was really scared."

"Oh, honey," Fran cried. "We were worried sick. Next time, tell me when ya wanna go to Ma's...eh...actually, tell the limo driver...P.S., I don't always exactly enjoy my visits with Ma." Fran smiled at Grace as she let go to let her father hug her.

Max hugged his daughter quickly and told her he was glad she was home. Then he motioned for everyone to get back in the car, and when Grace saw C.C. in the backseat, she raised her eyebrow at Fran. Fran let out a laugh and told her she could double buckle in the front seat. "Did she really come with you looking for me?" Gracie said inquisitively.

Fran giggled..."She came because she wanted to impress ya father, but she didn't really help search for ya honey."

"I didn't think so." Grace laughed.

Once everyone was inside the house, Maggie came sprinting down the stairs to wrap her little sister in a big hug. "Grace! I'm so glad you're home." She sighed happily.

"Geez...I wasn't gone that long!" Grace giggled.

Brighton entered the room with a can of soda. "Oh good, I see ya found the twerp."

Gracie put her hand on her hip. "You mean to tell me you weren't the least bit worried?" she asked.

Brighton laughed. "Glad to see you haven’t changed in the past few hours Miss Smarty Pants." Brighton laughed, as he exited after giving her a pat on the head.

"Oy. I swear he thinks I'm 2 Fran!" Grace whined.

"Oh, sweetie. He just can't show his emotion. He's a man." She sighed as she eyed Max. "Go ask your father. He knows all about hiding his feelings."

Niles chuckled quietly to himself, but when he saw Max's cold stare, he exited into the kitchen. "I'll be in there if you need me." He pointed his way out.

Fran smacked Grace's tush lightly and told her to go upstairs. "It's been a long day for all of us sweetie, why don't ya go to bed?"

Grace obeyed, and quickly gave Fran and Max a hug good-night, before trudging up the stairs.

Fran watched her exit, and then took a seat on the couch, as she patted the spot next to her, as if inviting Max to come next to her.

He did, but sat farther from her than she had wanted.

"Ya know Mr. Sheffield, ya can't keep toying with my feelings like this."

"Yes, I know Fr-Miss Fine." He corrected himself. She just smirked.

"I think it would be smarter if we went into my office to discuss this." He suggested, "considering we have a nosy butler." He said as he turned to see Niles standing in the doorway watching, and pretending to dust. Fran nodded her head.

When Niles started to follow them to the office, Max knew he needed to stop him. "Niles, you've already dusted my office today." He said with a wave of his hand.

"Oh, damn." Niles cursed. His plan had been ruined.

As Max sat behind his desk, Fran perched herself on the corner in her usual position, with her legs crossed, but this time, her arms were folded.

"Ok, Miss Fine, I am terribly sorry... I never mean to hurt you..." He started.

"I know ya don't mean to Mr. Sheffield." She interrupted, "But somehow, ya always manage to. Now we both know what you said today. You called me Fran, and actually, ya almost did it again. But you denied it, like it would bring us too close or something."

"I-"

"No, ya can't do that Mister. It's not right. You also called Gracie 'our' child, and quickly corrected ya-self. Why can't ya just accept that you have feelings for me??"

"Are you quite finished interrupting me?" Max retorted.

"Maybe...It depends on what ya try to say next." She joked.

Max let out a soft laugh.

Fran leaned over intently listening to what he had to say. He caught a glimpse of just how low her jacket was and started to perspirate.

"O-OK, both of us know I have feelings for you, and why I keep having problems expressing my feelings." He stammered.

"Oh we do do we?" She asked flirtatiously. "I thought that's what I just asked ya."

"Well..." He looked down, searching for the right words. "I just...I just...if it doesn't wok out between us, what would happen? I mean, what about the kids?"

"Well at the rate you're goin', if anything ever happens between us, Gracie won't even need a nanny anymore." She said smartly.

Max was sweating profusely, and Fran knew this, but she kept poking at him anyway. She loved making him nervous. She leaned in even further, and closer to him. So close, that she could feel the heat coming off of his body.

"F-F-F-"

"Say it, I know you can say it." Fran poked.

"Fran." He was relieved that he had said it finally.

She smiled wide, and decided she had made him nervous enough and backed off. "Thank you, now is there anything else you would like to tell me?" She fully had expected a 'yes', but she had been deceived.

"Uh...." he started "No." He stated finally.

Bloody Hell, I could just kick myself! I know I could have said something else to her, I even wanted to. 'Fran I love you and can't imagine my life without you, kiss me now and let's get married later.' Why do I have to be such a jerk? He asked himself over and over, and felt like a complete idiot as she swayed out of his office.

******

Later, as Fran sat in her room, thinking over her day. Why does he have to be such a

schmendrick?? I love him, and he loves me. Maybe I shoulda just said it first, maybe then it woulda been easier for him. I had a million things to tell him! 'Max, I love you. Now kiss me and let's get married already!!!'

She was completely hurt. She loved Mr. Sheffield so much, and she knew he had feelings for her, but she couldn’t get over the fact that he just couldn’t admit it.

"Why can’t he just say it?" She muttered to herself.

She didn’t understand, and it bothered her, because, deep down, she really wanted to understand him.

As she lay in her bed, mulling over what had been said that day and whether it meant anything or not. ‘Of course it meant something, I mean, it had to mean something.’ She thought to herself. She couldn’t bear it any longer, and allowed a tear to roll down her cheek, and a whimper slip out of her mouth.

How could a man make me cry??? She thought. I don’t think I’ve ever cried over a man before. Not even Danny. What the hell’s a’matter with me???

She gently pulled the covers around her, not so much for warmth, as for comfort. She eventually cried herself to sleep.

******

As Fran was sitting on the couch in the living room, watching T.V., the phone rang. "I’ll get it." She whined.

"Hello?" She answered the phone.

"WHA??!!" Fran cried.

"This has to be a mistake. Max couldn’t have been in a car accident…he’s in his office."

"No…" She began to cry. "I-I-I’m almost positive he never left."

As she stood in Max’s office, staring at his empty desk, she buried her face in her hands. "This can’t be happening!" She sobbed.

She walked in silent sorrow to the phone. "Do ya have any information? What hospital I can go to in order to see him, anything? Can ya tell me anything???" She cried, holding her face with one hand.

"H-H-He WHAT???" She screamed, and dropped the phone to the floor.

She keeled over onto her knees with her face in her hands now sobbing loudly. "No…Max! he can’t be dead! He’s not dead!!! It’s impossible! He’s not dead!!!"

She couldn’t control her emotions. "No-Max…No-Max…NO MAX!!!!" She sobbed.

*****

"Miss Fine…Miss Fine…" Max shook Fran lightly as she slept.

She had been tossing and turning, her face was red, and wet, she had been crying in her sleep. She turned to look up at him. "MAX!" She screamed, cupping his face with her hands. "It was horrible…you-you died."

"I didn’t die, I’m right here." Max tried to console her. He tenderly unwrapped the blankets that bound her so tightly, and pulled her to him, as he stroked her hair reassuringly, he comforted her, "It’s OK Fran, it’s OK."

She looked up at him. "You called me Fran." She smiled slightly, but it quickly turned back to a frown. She pulled away from him. "But are ya gonna take it back this time?" She asked.

"No. Nothing. I won’t ever take anything back again." He said.

A wide smile spread across her face. "OK then, Max."

He smiled at her beautiful face. How is it possible that she could look this gorgeous after tossing and turning, and crying in her sleep? Max thought to himself.

"Fran…" Max started, "I love you."

"Y-Y-You do? His words ran through her mind a million times.

"I always have. I’ve loved you since the day you arrived on our doorstep. Did you see the way you comforted Maggie today??? It was amazing. Or the way you just smiled at me? You’re gorgeous. Or the way you-you…" His thoughts trailed off as he closed his mouth over hers.

After a few moments, she broke the kiss reluctantly. "I-I-I Love you too!" She announced breathlessly, and collapsed into his arms. He wrapped his arms tightly around her, and rested his head o hers. "I finally said it." He breathed. "I can’t believe I finally said it."

"I can’t either, but I am most definitely glad ya did." She smiled up at him.

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