I can't tell you the time frame in which this story takes place because if I do, it will pretty much give away everything that happens. All I can say is that it takes place before The Thing. Also, in my story I have made several contradictions to something that was said in the real episodes. Please bear with me on these. I felt these contradictions were necessary to make the story better.

Comments are greatly, greatly, greatly appreciated. Good or bad. Please tell me what you think.

I hope you enjoy this. It's my first fanfiction. I'm only 14 years old, so sorry if the writing isn't that great. At times it may sound like a soap, so for all of you soap-haters out there, please forgive me. I'm not crazy aboutt them either, and try to stear clear of that. But, sometimes it's just inevitable. Now I'll stop rambling, give you my last few thoughts, and you'll be off. I had a great time writing this fanfiction, and I hope to write more. I've read so many fanfictions, I'm sorry if the plot is similar to someone else's story. I didn't read it. Hope you like it. Enjoy!!

Oh yeah, one more thing: Disclaimer: I wish these characters belonged to me, but, sadly, they don't. They belong to Fran Drescher and Peter Marc Jacobson. Please don't sue me. I mean no harm. Thanks and enjoy!

The Beginning

by

Cara
(c_h1957@yahoo.com)

"Oh Niles, I feel terrible," Fran said as she came down the back stairs, her hand on her head. Niles was in the kitchen chopping something for dinner. "I must have caught what Val had. I've got a fever, I'm nauseus, and have a terrible nasal congestion."

"No kidding," Niles mumbled. "Perhaps you should go to the doctor Miss Fine."

"Oh no, it'll go away in a few days."

"Well, when I'm sick, a hot bath in Mr. Sheffield's jacuzzi tub always makes me feel good."

"I'll try that. Thanks Niles," Fran said as she turned around and walked back up the stairs.

*********

"Niles, where's Miss Fine?" Max asked as he and the children sat down for dinner.

"I'm not sure, sir. The last I heard from her she was going to take a a bath, but that was two or three hours ago. She wasn't feeling so good, but it's not like her to miss dinner. She must be really sick."

"Well, fix her a plate, I'll bring it up to her. Perhaps she laid down to rest and fell asleep."

"Certainly, sir," Niles responded.

Max walked up the stairs and knocked on Fran's door. No answer.

"Miss Fine," Max said. Still nothing. He tried the door and found it unlocked. He walked in to see her lying under the covers, one arm under her head, asleep.

'She looks really pale,' Max thinks. 'She must be really sick to fall asleep during the day and miss dinner. I wonder if I should wake her up. Better not. I'll just let her sleep.'

********

Fran woke up and looked at her clock. 10:00 am. 'Oh, Mr. Sheffield is going to kill me,' she thought. She got up and found she had a splitting headache and a high fever. She decided to go downstairs and ask for the day off.

"Niles, where's Mr. Sheffield?" Fran asked, coming into the kitchen.

"He's already left for the theater. He said you should take the day off. Last night he went to check on you and bring you a plate and saw that you were asleep. When he came back downstairts he seemed really worried about you."

"Oh, Mr. Sheffield is so sweet. Too bad he's not home now. Well, I'm going to go upstairs and go back to sleep. I'm exhausted."

"How can you be exhausted Miss Fine? Last night you fell asleep at 6:00. I suggest you go to a doctor before you get seriously ill."

"No, I'll be fine."

"Please, Miss Fine, go to a doctor. Mr. Sheffield would want you to get better," Niles said, knowing he could convince her by using Mr. Sheffield. She loved him too much to disagree if he was involved in the argument. Niles just wished that Mr. Sheffield would realize how he feels about her before it's too late, and she's run off with someone else and left us all miserable.

"Well, if I'm still sick tomorrow then I'll go see my doctor."

"Thank you Miss Fine. Now, go get some rest. I'll bring you up some soup later."

"Thanks Niles."

The day passed slowly for Niles and Mr. Sheffield. Without Fran around they had no one to talk to, and they found it very boring. Mr. Sheffield had come home from the theater before lunch to check on Miss Fine, and had stayed in his office the rest of the day. The clock ticked towards 6:00, and everyone began to sit down for dinner. Again, Miss Fine was absent.

The next day Niles drove her to her doctor's office. He only had to wait for her for about 15 minutes. She came out with a slight look of shock on her face.

"What did he say?" Niles asked.

"He said I should go see my gynocologist," she said, no emotion in her voice.

"Your gynocologist? Why? Does he think you're pregnant?"

"I don't know. He just suggested that I go to my gynocologist and see if she can find anything wrong with me. If she can't, then he said it's just a bad case of the flu."

"Oh. Do you want me to come with you to your gynocologist?"

"You would do that?"

"Of course Miss Fine, " Niles said. "I'm here for you if you need me."

"Oh, thank you Niles,"she said, "I didn't really want to go alone, but didn't know who to ask to come with me. My mother is on a cruise, and Val is somewhere out of town on vacation or something."

"Of course Miss Fine. Lets just get you home for now."

They went home and Fran spent the rest of the day worrying about seeing her gynocologist tomorrow. She wouldn't let Niles tell Mr. Sheffield. She didn't know what his reaction would be, and frankly, she was scared to find out.

Niles, Maxwell, and the children were glad to see Miss Fine come down for dinner. Not only had Max and Niles been lonely, but the children missed Fran, and they had a lot of things to ask her, and to tell her about. The relief was short-lived though. Fran wasn't her usual, cheery, self. She hadn't been her usual self in several days. Maxwell asked how the doctor went. She just said that he said she had a bad case of the flu.

Fran went to bed early. She was getting more and more nervous about her gynocologist appointment tomorrow. She knew she wasn't pregnant. She hadn't slept with anyone. But, if she wasn't pregnant, why else would her doctor be sending her to a gynocologist? What could be wrong with her that only a gynocologist would know? She fell into a restless sleep, and was both nervous and glad when morning came. She wanted to get this over with, and prayed that nothing would be wrong with her.

At 10:00, Fran and Niles left the mansion to go see Dr. Reynolds, Fran's gynocologist.

Niles was in the waiting room for a long time, over an hour. Just when he was starting to worry, one of Dr. Reynolds' assistants came and asked him to join Fran in Dr. Reynold's office. Niles walked in to see Fran sitting in a chair, sobbing uncontrollably, dabbing at her eyes with a tissue. When Niles came in she looked up.

She could only get out two words between the tears. "I'm pregnant."

"What?!?!?" Niles said. "Miss Fine, I thought you said there was no way in the world you were pregnant."

She began to calm down enough to talk. "There isn't." She turned to Dr. Reynolds. "Dr. Reynolds, I can't be pregnant because I...have never had sex. I'm a virgin."

"What?!?!?!?" Niles said for the second time. This was beginning to turn into a soap opera. "You mean to tell me Miss Fine, that after dating Danny for all that time, you never slept with him?" Fran shook her head. "And what about all those men you dated to make Mr. Sheffield jealous? Some of them were very handsome. You never slept with any of them?"

"No. I just couldn't bring myself to do it. I'm saving myself for my true love, my soul mate. When he comes along I'll know. But in the meantime, Ma always said that the worst thing I could ever do was to get pregnant before getting married. So you see Dr. Reynolds, there is absolutely no possible way I could be pregnant. I can't get pregnant without sleeping with someone. And I've never done that."

"Fran, you are pregnant. I've never seen more positive results. Sometimes we get what's know as a false positive. Where you appear to be pregnant, but really aren't. But I can assure you. False positive results are usually missing one thing or another. There is now way you could not be pregnant. Plus, you have all the signs of pregnancy. Fever, fatigue, nauseausness. I'm sorry Fran, but you are pregnant."

"But how am I supposed to know who the father is. I can't remember sleeping with someone, and I'm positive I would remember losing my virginity."

"We can run a DNA test on the child to see who his father is if you would like."

"Yes please, how soon can you do it.?"

"It will only take a few minutes to gather the sample. We can do that now if you would like. But it will take several days, maybe even weeks before the results come in."

"Okay."

Niles paid while Dr. Reynolds was took the sample.

By the time they got to the car, her sobs were returning. Niles tried to comfort her as best he could. But what can you say to something like this. He believes Fran when she says that she's a virgin. But if that is true then she can't be pregnant. But Dr. Reynolds said there was no way she could not be pregnant. Niles was so confused. He didn't even know what to think. He couldn't even imagine how bad Miss Fine was feeling.

When they got home Fran went up to her room. Niles asked if she wanted company, but she said she'd rather be alone to gather her thoughts. She knew she was pregnant. She believed Dr. Reynolds. But it wasn't just that. Fran could tell. She wasn't sure how, maybe some kind of motherly psychic connection. But she did know that she was pregnant, and that she wanted this baby, despite what her mother would say. She thought about who the father could be, but her mind drew a blank. She hadn't been really close to anyone since Danny. And that was more than two years ago. She didn't know what to do. Fran realized that she would have to tell Mr. Sheffield sooner or later. She wondered whether or not he would let her stay. She sure hoped he would. She couldn't stand the thought of leaving. She came to the conclusion that this was what was worrying her most about the pregnancy. Mr. Sheffield's response. She decided the only way to feel better was to tell him as soon as possible.

She came downstairs when she heard the door open. She wanted to get to Mr. Sheffield before Niles did. She didn't want him to give anything away.

"Mr. Sheffield," she said, "could I talk to you for a minute, in private?"

Maxwell looked at her. He could see that her eyes were all red, that she had been crying.

"Of course Miss Fine. We can go in my office. Are you allright?"

"Sordof. That's what I need to talk to you about." She started walking towards Max's office, and he followed. Once they were inside he closed and locked the door, and pulled the plug out of the intercom.

Max sat down on the loveseet and motioned for her to join him. She sat down. Fran didn't know where to begin. This was a lot harder than she imagined.

"Mr. Sheffield, I have something very important I need to tell you. You will probably want to fire me after you hear what it is, but I need to tell you."

"Miss Fine, why would I want to fire you? I thought you said this has something to do with your health?" Max was very curious to know how her being sick could relate to him firing her.

"Well, Mr. Sheffield, as you know, the other day I went to see my doctor. However, he didn't say everything was allright, he said I should...I should...see a gynocologist." By now Fran was starting to cry. She tried to pull herself together.

"What? A gynocologist? Why on earth would you go there?" This startled Max. He desperatley hoped she wasn't pregnant. He couldn't imagine her carrying around someone else's child.

Fran was starting to cry harder and it was hard to go on. Sobs were racking her body. To comfort her, Max wrapped his arms around her shoulders.

"What happened? Did you go?"

"Niles and I...we went this morning."

"What did the gynocologist say?" Max was extremely nervous, and hanging on the edge of his seat as to what the gyno would have said.

"She said...I...was pregnant." Fran finished. Sobs overcame her and she began sobbing into Mr. Sheffield's shoulder.

"You're pregnant?" His worst fear was confirmed. He couldn't imagine how horrible this must be on Miss Fine. He tried to comfort her. "There, there Miss Fine. It's not that bad. We're going to help you get through this." She looked up.

"You're not firing me?"

"Of course not, I would never fire you for something like that. That's no reason to be fired. You are going to stay here and we will all help you get through this. Do you know who the father is?"

Her tears were slowing now that the worst was over and that she knew she still had a home here.

"That's the thing Mr. Sheffield. I know I'm pregnant. I can feel it. Plus Dr. Reynolds said so. But I don't know who the father is because...because I've never had sex."

"What?! You mean to tell me you're a virgin? You've never had sex in your entire life? Not even with Danny?"

"Not even with Danny. I've always been saving myself for my one true love. Or at least until after I'm married. I could never bring myself to do it with Danny." Maxwell was beginning to see just how wonderful Fran was. He was overjoyed that she had never spent the night in another man's bed.

"If you're still a virgin, then how in the world could you be pregnant?"

"I guess I'm not a virgin afterall. Dr. Reynolds took a sample of the child's DNA, and the results as to who the father is should be here in a few days. At the most, two or three weeks."

Max didn't know if he could last that long. The suspense was killing him already. He had to know who the father was. He racked his memory, but couldn't rememeber her having any dates in the past couple of months. Or at least not any serious dates. She had been home practically every night.

"Miss Fine, I just want you to know that I'm here for you. Anything you need you can come to me. You're going to get through this. We're going to get you through this."

"Thank you Mr. Sheffield. You have no idea how much that means to me."

"Of course Miss Fine. Do you want me to be with you when you tell the children?"

"Oh, the children. I was so worried about your reaction that I completely forget them." Maxwell was touched that she had worried this much about him. At the same time he felt a pang of guilt knowing he caused her so much worry. He hoped that he wasn't giving her the impression that her job here was threatened. He wondered where in the world she got the idea that he he would fire her for being pregnant. "If you don't mind, I would really appreciate it if you told them with me."

"Of course Miss Fine," he said, getting up off the loveseat. He took her hand and led her out the door towards the children, who were in the kitchen doing homework.

Maggie, B, and Gracie took it better than Fran had expected. She thought they would be worried that the new child might take her love for them away. She was honored, and glad, that they knew that Fran would always love them the same, no matter what happened. Their main reaction was excitement. Maggie and Gracie wanted a girl, but Brighton wanted a boy. She couldn't blame him for that. She was just glad that they understood, and were on her side.

*********

It had been a week and the results of the DNA test still weren't back. Fran was dying to know who she lost her virginity to, and who the father of her child is. That night, when she was laying in bed, she thought on this. She even began to think that she was going crazy, that she was imagining all this. She had a dream that she lost her virginity when she was 17 on a kibbutz. Like that would have ever happened. She was even thinking that maybe she had had tons of sex, and was just going through a mental slash amnesia slash craziness period. But deep down, she knew that couldn't be true.

Fran found it ironic that the first time she ever had sex, she got pregnant, AND she didn't even remember it. Again, she wondered who the man was. She thought of one person in particular, but decided to not jump to conclusions. She would just have to wait for the results to come in.

About a week later she received a phone call from Dr. Reynolds, announcing that the results were in. Fran still hadn't told her mother. She wanted to wait until she found out who the father was, and if she had a chance of marrying him, before she told her. When Dr. Reynolds told her who he was, she realized she might as well tell her mother now, because she had no chance of ever marrying this man.

Her mother didn't take it too badly. She wasn't too concerned about Fran being pregnant before she was married once her mother considered how old Fran was. Sylvia was a little mad at first. But once Fran told her what Mr. Sheffield said, how he would help her get through this, Sylvia brightened. In her eyes, there was no one more deserving of Fran than Max, and she hoped this baby would be the catalyst that would finally get them together.

After Fran told her mother, she realized she had to tell Mr. Sheffield who the father was. She knew he was just as anxious to know as she was. When she got home, she went straight to Mr. Sheffield's office. Talking to her mother had strenghtened her. Fran still hadn't talked to the father, because she was afraid he would say he didn't want it. But she wanted this baby, and she was determined to have this baby. And that determination only helped to strengthen her more. She was worried that once Mr. Sheffield found out who the father was, he wouldn't want her living in his home. She was worried that he wouldn't believe it. She whispered a few words of encouragement to herself and knocked on his office door.

(AN: if this was on tv, now would be the time for one long, whopping, commercial break. But I'm not that mean, so here goes. Brace yourselves.)

"Come in."

Fran opened the door and stepped inside. Mr. Sheffield was sitting on his desk, working on some papers. She was relieved to see that neither Ms. Babcock nor Niles were in the office. She didn't really feel like telling them right now, even though she was extrememly curious as to what their reactions would be.

Mr. Sheffield looked up. "Oh hello Miss Fine. How are you feeling?"

'Well at least one good thing has come from this pregnancy. Mr. Sheffield has been paying much more attention to me lately, always asking me how I am, and if I need anything,' Fran thought.

"I'm fine, thanks. Um... Mr. Sheffield... there's something I need to tell you."

Maxwell stopped what he was doing, took off his glasses, and stood up. He knew she had something big to say. He could tell she was really nervous. He walked over to the loveseat, and like the last time she had come into his office bearing big news, he montioned for her to sit down next to him.

"Yes?"

"Well...um....Dr. Reynolds called me earlier today with the results of the DNA test. I know who the father is."

Maxwell decided to not rush her, he didn't say anything, and let her continue at her own pace. He could tell she didn't want to tell him right away, so he sat patiently while she beated around the bush.

"And I finally worked up the nerve to tell my mother. She was excited, and thanked you for your help and support." Fran swallowed. She really didn't want to tell him, for fear he would fire her, or not believe her, but she had to sometime. She closed her eyes, opened them, and plunged ahead.

"Mr. Sheffield - the man who is the father of my baby, and who I lost my virginity to is..." she swallowed again, and continued,"is...you." A tear trickled down her face. She looked up, and Mr. Sheffield's face was blank. She waited, and still he showed no emotion. She began to worry. "Mr. Sheffield...um...I understand you may not want this baby, but I do, and even if it means I have to leave you and the family I've come to love so much these past years, I'm going to have this baby." This brought Mr. Sheffield out of his shock. He leaned over and pulled Fran into a tight embrace. Fran was surprised at his reaction, but eagerly returned the gesture.

"Fran, I can't tell you how excited I am that I'm the father of your child. And yes, I want this baby more than you can imagine. I would have wanted the baby anyway, even if it wasn't mine, but you don't know how relieved I am that I'm going to have another child. That we're going to have a child." Fran looked at him. The use of her first name wasn't lost on her. She smiled.

"Really?"

"Really."

"So does this mean I can call you Max?" He laughed.

"Fran, I would be disappointed if you didn't." She smiled. But then her face clouded over, and Maxwell could tell there was still something bothering her.

"What's wrong Fran? Did you not want me to be the father?"

"No, of course not. There is no one else in the entire world who I would want to be the father of my child. I'm excited it's you. But, I gotta say, I'm a little dissapointed that I can't remember conceiving it. Can you remember?" They both blushed.

"No, I can't. The only time we've ever been in the same bed was when you came home drunk from Mona's party, and I had taken some heavy flu medications. I guess that's why we didn't remember."

"Yeah that must be. Maxwell, I'm really excited that you are the father, but I wish this hadn't happened until later, when hopefully, we would have been closer."

"I know what you mean Fran. But, subconciously I must really like you, and you must really like me, for that to have happened. So I say we explore our relationship and see where it takes us. What do you say about, maybe, dinner at the Rainbow Room tomorrow?"

"Really? Are you serious?"

"Yep. I'm serious. We've become great friends, and I know, if we give it time, we could become much more than that. So, what do you say?"

"I feel the same. I believe there is a deep connection between us. It just might take a while to find it. So, I say dinner sounds great."

"Fabulous. Be ready by 7:00 tomorrow night. In the meantime, what do you say we go tell the children?"

"Yes, lets. But... do you think they'll be happy, with you as the father and all?"

"Fran, you are a mother to them, but you are also so much more. They'll be thrilled. Afterall, Niles and them have been trying to get us together for ages. They'll view this as the perfect way to do it." Fran smiled, Max could always make her feel better.

"I hope so. Well, lets go," with that, Fran and Maxwell walked hand in hand out of the office to find the children.

They found them sitting in the living room, watching tv. Niles and Ms. Babcock were in there also, arguing. Maggie, Brighton, Grace, and Niles smiled when they saw Fran and Max holding hands. Ms. Babcock frowned.

"Children, Niles, C.C., we have something to tell you all, " Max said.

Maggie turned the tv off, and Niles and C.C. stopped arguing.

"Maggie, B, Gracie," Fran said, "Niles, and Ms. Babcock. I have some very exciting news. The father of my baby is Maxwell."

Everyone started cheering and talking at once, except for C.C. Her face kept twitching. She managed to force out, "I'm happy for you, " before she had to leave.

After all the noise had quieted down, Max said, "and, what's more, I have just asked Fran out on our first date. We believe there is a strong connection between us, and the beginnings of a great relationship. We want to explore this relationship, and see where life takes us." After that, the children were so excited they were practically jumping up and down.

Maggie spoke up for the three of them. "Dad, we think you and Fran make the perfect couple, and we can't wait for you to get married someday. Fran is already our mother, and we can't wait for our new sibling."

Fran was so happy tears of joy came down her face. Maxwell wiped them off her cheeck with the back of his hand, and whispered in her ear, before hugging her, "I told you they'd be happy." Fran was too overjoyed to say anything. She just smiled, and melted into Maxwell's embrace.

The children kept on talking about how happy they were, but neither Fran nor Max could hear them anymore. They were in a world of their own. Max leaned toward Fran and placed his lips on hers, starting a sweet, loving kiss. It was Niles turn for tears of joy. He felt he was the happiest person in the world. His two best friends were finally on the path destiny intended for them.

The children stopped and looked at their father and mother. They knew that Fran and Max were soul mates. Destined for each other. And as they watched them kissing, a wave of sheer happiness washed over them, and they felt the happiest they had ever been in a long, long time.

That night, the Sheffield house was rather quiet. Niles and the children felt they had nothing more to say, they were happy beyond words. They ate dinner quietly in the kitchen. Fran and Max sat for hours on the couch, saying nothing. Both felt the love each had for the other. They spent the rest of the night staring into each other's eyes. Every now and then, sharing a hug, a sweet kiss. No words were needed at the Sheffield house that night. Destiny had finally fulfilled its path. It had three children and one butler happier than all the children and butlers in the world. And it had the two people who were more perfect for each than any other two people on earth, finally on the road to happiness.

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