by
Casey
(SingC25@aol.com)
It was early morning, Niles and C.C. were sitting in the kitchen of the Sheffield Mansion sipping cups of coffee while they gazed lovingly into each other's eyes. "Why do we hate each other Niles?" C.C. inquired sweetly. "I never hated you! I've always liked you!" Niles answered. "Oh, right, and I suppose all the times you were mean to me, you were really flirting?" C.C. snapped. Niles looked confused. "What? No good?"
They laughed for a second, and then Niles heard a quiet sneeze over the intercom. He quickly got up and walked over to it. "Miss Fine, would you kindly mind your own business?" He was talking quite loudly.
~
Fran was leaning against the wall in her room pushing the button with her ear close to the intercom. "Oh, Niles...did you have to yell that so loudly?" she siad rubbing her ear. Niles voice entered into her room, "Only because I knew you were standing right there." Fran looked annoyed. "I can't believe you heard that! That was a quiet sneeze!"
~
A funny smile came across Nile's face. "Yes, the volume of the sneeze surprised me too. I didn't think you could do anything quietly. You have the biggest mouth..."
~
A sexy smile came over Fran's face. "All the better to kiss Mr. Sheffield with my dear." Nile's voice entered her room again. "Oh Miss Fine... you are funny...funny, funny,funny. Now would you hang up the bloody intercom and get Val off of the phone. I can hear her giggling." Val's voice carried over the reciever, "Sorry Fran, I'll call you later."
Fran half smiled with one eybrow raised. "Alright Val, Luv Ya, Bye." she hung up the phone. "You are so tricky Niles!" she called into the speaker. Well alright, I'll see you at breakfast." Niles replied, "Good-bye Miss Fine."
Well, Fran was not going to let him have his way. She sat down on her bed remembering all the times he had listened to her private conversations over the phone, through key holes and over the intercom.
A wide smile spread across her face. She had an idea. Fran quickly got to her feet and grabbed a peice of tape, she would put it over the intercom button to hold it down. That way, she could be anywhere in her room and hear what was going on down there, and Niles wouldn't hear her soft breathing or a sneeze incase she had to again. Her idea seemed brilliant until she realized that they would hear the click of the intercom turning on.
She was annoyed that she hadn't thought of this, and realized that she might be missing part of their conversation. "This was worse than missing 'The Young anad the Restless' " she said to herself.
She pulled herself to her closet and threw on a robe.
She quietly made her way down to the butler's pantry to look into the kitchen and put her ear to the door. She could only faintly hear Nile's voice. "Oy, this is no use," she whispered. "It isn't fair! Niles would be able to hear me if I was the one in there talking to Mr. Sheffield!"
~
Niles tiptoed slowly over to the pantry door. "That's because you have a big mouth." He smiled as he opened the pantry door and Fran toppled over onto her touchas.
"Oh, Niles, Now you're the one spoiling all the fun for everyone!" Fran looked up at him with her hand out , suggesting that he should help her up.
"Miss Fine, why won't you leave us alone?" Niles questioned her.
"Hmm...lemme think," Fran said, "because you don't leave me alone! And besides, you know everything about my private life, and all I know about you is that you've got a crush on C.C.!"
Niles looked annoyed. "OK, I'll tell you all about it if you promise not to tell anyone."
Fran nodded and smiled earnestly,
"Not even Val or your mother OK?"
Fran looked dissapointed. "Not even Val?" she whined.
"No, espeacially not Miss Toriello, she will tell everyone she knows."
"And that would include?"
Niles raised an eyebrow at her with a smirk.
"Oh, alright. How come you get to be a yenta and tell people about it?"
"Because I'm the butler. Butlers are supposed to be the gossip guru of every household. You have no reason to be in all the rooms. We can pretend to dust and clean."
"I wanna be a butler!"
"Oh, trust me. No you don't."
"You're probably right."
Niles looked frusturated."Well anyway, I need to tell you later because Miss Babcock and I are kind of in the middle of something." he said with a wink.
"Oh..." Fran bit her lip. "I get it...but do you promise to tell me all the details?"
"Oy. Yes Miss Fine."
Fran looked a little dissapointed as she swayed her hips and made her way to Max's office. What she saw amazed her! He was sitting at his desk leaning over the intercom listening in on Niles and C.C.'s conversation.
"Mr. Sheffield! I can't believe you!"
Max was shaken. He hadn't expected anyone to enter his office quite this early in the morning.
"Oh, Miss Fine! What are you doing?"
"Well, wouldn't you like to know. I want to know what YOU'RE doing!"
Max raised one eyebrow at her.
"Did you know about this fling between Niles and C.C.?"
"Uh...Yeah I did. I knew since yesterday."
"Oh really and you didn't blab to anyone, not even Val?"
"Well Val called at a good time this morning. She listened in over the intercom with me."
He smiled and got up from his desk. Fran looked at him.
"What are you doing?" Fran gasped. "Now we won't be able to hear them!"
Max smiled and held up a tape dispenser. He walked closer to Fran and slid his arms around her tiny waist.
Fran smiled awkwardly."Uh, what are you doing?" she inquired softly.
"Picking up where we left off yesterday morning." Max gazed into her eyes.
"Oh Yeah?"
"Yeah."
"Well then you'd better turn off the lights 'cause as of the moment, I look like hell." Fran smiled
"No you don't, you're perfect."
Oh, Mr. Sheffield, I don't think that..." She realized what he'd said. "Wha?!"
Max pulled her body closer to his.
All of a sudden there was sound over the intercom. Max and Niles's voices meshed together as they both spoke the words "I love you" simultaneously. C.C. smiled at Niles and Fran smiled at Max. "I love you too!"
Both couples crashed into kisses. They now knew who their soul mates were.
The End