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Chapter Text

Author's note: I've just started using AO3 so if you are a FanFiction user and this story looks familiar, that it because it's been posted on there for a year already. This is an alternate reality that takes place during/after "Strange Bedfellows". It is an in-progress fic and there will be fifteen chapters in all. Please let me know what you think and enjoy! 

Maxwell hurried into his bedroom, shutting the door behind him and leaning his back up against it. He took a deep breath, thinking through what just happened. Was he reading too much into this? Just because he sang 'Georgie Girl' doesn't necessarily mean that he had sex. Though he could have sworn when he peeked around the corner that he saw Miss Fine scratching her ear, the same after sex quirk that she had told him about this morning, but that could have been purely coincidental. If they actually did have sex at least one of them would remember it, wouldn't they?

He arched his eyebrow, trying to recount his memories from the night before. He wasn't the type of guy to go for a one night stand. But then again, he wasn't himself last night either. He was on so much cold medication that he hardly remembers getting into bed, let alone what he might have done if he woke up with a beautiful woman beside him. Still, if they had really hooked up then there would be more signs than just singing a song and itching an ear. Wouldn't there?

Down the hall Fran sat at the chair in front of her vanity, shaking her head in disbelief. Why did her ear have to itch? And why did he have to sing that song? She admitted to herself that he sounded pretty sexy doing it, but that was beside the point right now. Is it possible that she had casual sex with her boss of nearly two years? She knew there was sexual tension there, that was clear to everyone at this point, but she knew that Mister Sheffield was far too proper to make a move on her that quickly. Of course, he did mention that he was pretty doped up on cold medicine and even he was unsure if anything had happened between them when they discussed it.

This was crazy, there is no way they really had sex. With a wave of her hand she decided to stop fixating on what could have happened when she should be getting ready for bed. But then again, she was a multitasker. She could get ready for bed and have an existential crisis at the same time, she sure had the experience in that regard.

She reached over onto the desk and grabbed a hair band, pulling all her hair back and tying it up before pulling out a makeup removal wipe from its pouch and gently started to clean away today's look. Once she got near her hair line on the side of her neck she rubbed harder, finding it tougher than expected to remove the color.

"What the-" Fran mumbled to herself, turning her head more to get a better look as she wiped a few more times with no luck. She moved the wipe away from her neck to get a better look, her eyes widening when she realized why it wasn't coming off. "Is that a- no, it can't be." She pushed her hair up more, looking over the red spot.

If nothing happened last night, why did she have a hickey planted on her neck? Her eyes were burning so bad this morning from the hangover she could hardly see to put on her makeup, so it was entirely possible that she had gotten it last night. That didn't mean that Mister Sheffield was the culprit. She did spend the night out partying with Mona and the other nannies, they could have ran into some guys and got a little frisky. That would explain it!

Although she remembered most of the evening before she got home pretty well and she didn't recall being with anyone else. She did however faintly remember that dream she had about Mister Sheffield last night. It wasn't the first sex dream she had ever had about him, but it was certainly the best one by far.

Fran flopped backwards into bed after deciding to just remove her makeup tomorrow, closing her eyes as she turned off to her side. She didn't remember her bed ever feeling this comfortable, not to mention the sheets felt like pure silk. She reached up and fluffed her pillow, getting more settled in as she got ready to drift peacefully off to sleep.

Moments later she felt the bed moving. Briefly she kicked herself for that last drink she had, not ready for the spins, then she felt an arm wrap around her body. She opened her eyes back up and looked straight into the eyes of the person beside her, both of them squinting a little back at each other.

"Wow, those pink squirrels sure knock a girl out fast." Fran said out loud, surprised.

"Miss Fine?" Maxwell asked, looking over her face.

"Y'know, you usually call me Fran in these dreams, but I'm kinda liking Miss Fine. It's kinkier."

"This is a dream?"

"What else would it be, silly?" She said, smiling at him.

Maxwell took his hand off her side, running it gently on her face. "I guess if this isn't real, I don't have to be afraid to tell you just how unbelievably gorgeous you are." He said, making her heart melt.

"Wow, your foreplay conversations are off the charts. I wish I could hear you say stuff like that outside of my subconscious." Fran said, watching him as his eyes went to her lips. She tucked them in, wetting them in her mouth before they both began leaning in slowly. They met in the middle, catching each other's lips in a delicate kiss. His hand moved slowly away from her face and onto her lower back, pulling her body closer to his as they deepened the kiss. She wrapped her arm around him, gripping at the soft material on the back of his pajama shirt as he began trailing kisses down her cheek and onto her neck. Her eyes nearly rolled back in her head as he started sucking at the bare skin just below her hairline, her favorite spot.

"Oh, Mister Sheffield!" She said, pleasure in her tone.

"Mister Sheffield." Fran said to herself, her mouth gaping open as she ran her hand over the red mark and remembered his lips on that exact spot. "It wasn't a dream."

Maxwell stretched his arms, his body feeling strained from what he assumed was the cold he'd been suffering through. He let out a tired exhale, pulling his robe off and tossing it on the end of his bed as he climbed on and got under the covers. He was exhausted and looking forward to this whole strange day to finally be over with. He moved around his legs, getting more comfortable.

"What is that?" Maxwell said to himself, feeling something balled up next to his foot. He sat up on his bed, reaching in his blanket till he felt the object. He pulled it out and looked it over, his eyes widening as it unraveled. His whole body froze as he looked over the black lacey pair of panties in his hand.

Maxwell rolled over on top of Fran with one smooth motion, grabbing onto her hands and pinning them against the pillow beneath her. He moved over and started kissing the inside of her wrist, following her arm all the way up to her shoulder and leaving wet tracks over her upper body. He let go of her hands when we felt her struggling to move them, worrying that he was hurting her. The moment he let go she moved them to the back of his head, gripping his hair as she pulled him back into a kiss. He felt her tongue tuck between his lips, opening his mouth wider to let her explore further.

He pulled away from her lips and set his elbows on the bed, leaning in and kissing her throat as he traveled down lower with each kiss. He slowed down briefly as he reached her chest, pecking at all the bare skin just above the smooth material on her nightgown. She moved her hands down his neck as he went lower, resting them on his shoulder as he pressed a final kiss on her lower stomach. He took his weight off of her body and reached a hand down onto her ankle, brushing it against her skin as he started sliding the end of her gown up her leg. He looked up and watched her as he did so, enjoying the way she nibbled at her lip as he reached her hips. He hooked his hand into the waistband of her underwear, tugging at them gently. Fran lifted up her lower body off the bed, letting him continue to pull them off of her.

Once they were all the way off he tossed them to the side, crawling his way back onto her and coming face to face with her again. He placed a few more kisses on her lips then pulled back, staring at her as her fingers slid under his waistband, slowly pulling down his pajamas and underwear till he sprung free. They both looked down between them a moment, looking back up at each other as she took a hold of him in her hand and slowly guided him into her. As he felt her whole insides covering him he buried his face into the crevice of her neck, moaning softly.

"Oh god, Miss Fine." He mumbled onto her with his hot breath.

"Oh god." Maxwell said, starting to finally process the memory. He hopped out of his bed quickly, shuffling around the room in a panic as he tried to figure out what to do with the pair of undergarments he still had clasped in his hand. He hurried over to a tall vase that sat in his room, dropping them into it. "Okay, that's better." He told himself, trying to calm down. "Yeah, Max, stuffing a pair of knickers into your vase definitely fixed the fact that you had sex with your nanny." He said, rolling his eyes at his own logic. He walked back over to his bed, sitting on the edge of it. "What did I do?" He said, resting his face in his palms.

Hours had passed and it was now closer to the morning than it was to the night. Fran couldn't sleep. Well, not that she couldn't sleep, more like she was avoiding sleep. The longer she laid there quietly in her bed, the more she remembered from her and Maxwell's adventurous night before.

As if it wasn't bad enough that she drunkenly slept with the man who employs her, she now had to be stuck as the only one of them with knowledge on what happened between them. How was she supposed to face him knowing what they did when he doesn't even have a clue? Was she supposed to tell him? She knew that if she were in his situation she would want to know, but she couldn't help but think about how painfully awkward that conversation would go. The man freaked out when she accidentally saw him naked. How was he gonna react if she told him all the things he did with her?

She needed to stop obsessing over this. Her alarm would be going off in a few hours and she wasn't the least bit sleepy, her racing mind preventing any tiredness from slipping in. She decided it was time to take a page out of her family's sleep remedy book, comfort food. Getting up out of bed, she grabbed her robe and put it on as she headed out of her bedroom and downstairs to the kitchen.

Downstairs she turned on a dim light, walking over to the refrigerator and opening up the doors. She had no idea what she even wanted. The only appetite she had after a whole night of remembering herself in bed with Mister Sheffield was not at all related to food. She bent down, digging through the bottom shelf to see if she could find anything that sparked her interest.

Maxwell crept quietly down the upstairs hallway, not wanting to wake anyone up as he snuck downstairs to get some tea and calm his nerves. He hadn't gotten a wink of sleep that night. All he could think about was the night before, how he somehow let himself hook up with the woman that he hired to take care of his children. Right now he needed to let that go, he could worry about it more tomorrow once he got some sleep. Tonight he needed to get his mind off of Miss Fine. He stepped slowly down the stairs, heading into the kitchen when he stopped abruptly in his tracks.

His jaw dropped, looking over the same body that he had gotten a much better view of the night before as she was perched forwards shuffling around some items in the fridge. Part of him contemplated turning around quietly and heading back up to his room, but the other part of him couldn't tear himself away. He took another step into the kitchen, ready to make himself known when she turned around.

"Oh my god." Fran said, jumping as she clenched the pack of bagels and cream cheese container in her hands.

"Miss Fine, I'm sorry." Maxwell said, feeling awful for spooking her. "I was just coming down to get some tea, I didn't mean to frighten you."

"It's fine, I'm fine." She said, suddenly going quiet as she couldn't think of anything else to say. "Wow, that's new.." She thought to herself.

"What are you doing awake at this hour?" He asked, walking over toward the counter as she did, watching her set her nighttime snacks down on the counter.

"I ah, couldn't sleep."

"You neither?"

"Guess it's just one of those nights." She said, looking away from him as she opened up the bagel bag and grabbed one out.

"Yeah, must be." He said, walking over to the cupboard and taking out a kettle to heat up some water in.

Fran glanced over at him a couple times as she cut open her bagel, watching how his eyes stayed on the faucet as he filled up the kettle. When he finally looked back at her she quickly looked away, setting both sides of her bagel into the toaster and putting them down.

Maxwell set his full kettle on the stove, turning it on before walking back over to the counter. He went into the drawer, pulling out some tea. "Do you want some? He asked, holding up the packet. She nodded slowly, answering him without a word. He pulled out another packet, looking back at her as she turned away shyly, his brow furrowing as he noticed the mark on her neck. As soon as he realized what it was his eyes widened, a tint of red forming on his cheeks.

Fran looked back over at him, wondering why he looked so surprised. She followed his eyes to her neck, putting together exactly what he was staring at. She turned the other way, pretending she hadn't noticed him noticing. He was about to say something when her bagel popped up, her hands shooting over to the toaster to pull them out, not caring how hot they were. She shuffled the halves around in her hands, not sure what to do with them at this point.

"Uhm, let me get you a plate." Maxwell said, hurrying to grab her a plate out of the cupboard and setting it in front of her.

"Thank you." Fran said, setting them down on the plate and wiping her hands off on a napkin. She reached over to the drawer near him and he flinched, taking a step back. "Sorry, I need a spoon for the cream cheese." She explained, opening the drawer and grabbing out a spoon. She looked him over as he stood beside her, wondering to herself why he looked so uncomfortable. All day after they had woken up together he acted fairly normal, but something was different now. She squinted her eyes at him as she put the spread on her bagel, zoning in on his facial expressions.

Did he look, guilty? She watched his eyes shift toward her momentarily, then he took a small breath as he looked away from her again. Yes, he looked guilty! If anyone could spot guilt a mile away, it was her. Was he really stressing this much over him singing and her scratching her ear? Or was he remembering last night too? Before she had a chance to say anything the kettle on the stove started to whistle and he rushed over to it, taking any opportunity to get further away from her.

Maxwell walked back over toward her hesitantly as she pulled two mugs off the rack for him to pour in and plopped both the tea packets in them. He avoided eye contact with her as he poured, setting the kettle down on a rag after both cups were full.

"Here you go." He said, sliding her cup across the counter and over to her.

"Thanks." She said, holding up her plate. "You want half a bagel?"

"No, I'm alright. Thank you." He said, all his words coming out so fast that they were almost grouped together as one.

Fran wasn't sure what he was thinking, but now she was dying to know if he was piecing together their night together the same way she had been. "Mister Sheffield?" She said, getting his attention. He looked over at her, sucking at his bottom lip nervously. "Are you still thinking about last night too?"

"Last night?" He questioned, a little thrown off by her bluntness till he remembered that she likely had no clue what happened still. "What about last night?"

"Y'know, us, together, in bed."

"Ah, I've thought about it a little bit." He softly replied, wondering if it was as obvious to her that he was lying.

"When you think about it, that would have been pretty crazy if something did happen between us." She eyed him as she spoke, watching the discomfort on his face. "Right?"

"Yes, given that you are my nanny, and I am your boss, it would be pretty crazy if something had happened between us."

Fran nodded, catching on to the fact that if she wanted him to admit he remembered too that she was gonna have to pull out more than just a casual mention of the possibility. "No, I actually meant that it would be pretty crazy considering you haven't been with anyone else since your wife."

"Wait, how-" He paused, looking over at her in shock. "How do you know that?"

Maxwell kept a slow but steady pace, pinching his eyes shut as he tried to think of something other than the fact that he was making love to the woman he'd been wildly attracted to since the moment he saw her perched with her cosmetics suitcase on the ottoman in his foyer the day they met. When he finally felt he had himself under control, he started kissing her sloppily. She didn't have the same worries on her mind, in fact she was ready to speed things up.

With one swift move she rolled him onto his back, staying pressed against him as she switched up their position. She bent her legs, straddling his body. He looked up at her as she smiled down at him, pulling on his shirt so he was sitting up face to face with her. She reached up and ran her hands through his hair, pulling him in for a hungry kiss as she started moving faster.

Maxwell rubbed both his hands onto her back, frantically moving them around and squeezing her closer against his body. He stopped kissing her and gritted his teeth together, doing everything to hold back from doing the one thing that he was sure she wasn't ready for quite yet. "Miss Fine." He said, trying to get her attention.

"Mister Sheffield." She said back, sounding more pleased than he needed to hear right now.

"No, Miss Fine, slow down." He said, grabbing her hips to stop the movement. "I'm sorry, just slow down a minute, please."

Fran looked him over, confused. "Is everything okay?"

"Yeah, I just-" He paused, looking her in the eyes. "I just need to go a little slower right now. I haven't been with anyone since, since-"

"Mister Sheffield." Fran stopped him, knowing he wasn't prepared to finish that sentence. "We'll slow down, okay? We can take it as slowly as you need to." She said, gently pushing her hand through his hair to soothe him.

Maxwell set his hand on her cheek, leaning in to kiss her softly as he maneuvered back on top of her and took control of the pace again.

"You remember?" Maxwell said, staring over at her desperately waiting for the answer.

"You remember too!" Fran said, getting the confirmation she was waiting for.

"When did you-"

"It's been coming back to me." She admitted. "I thought when I woke up it was just a dream, but then when I took off my makeup I saw, y'know." She pointed to her neck, getting the point across. "How did you?"

"Ah, well, I found your underwear in my bed."

"When I got dressed this morning, I wondered why I was going commando. That clears things up I guess." She said with a nod. "Do you still have them?"

"I shoved them in a vase."

"Any particular reason?" She asked, curiously. "Or is that just some British ritual I'm not familiar with?"

"I don't know, I just panicked. Now they are stuck in a hundred and sixty year old pot and I have no idea how to get them back out." He said, the both of them looking at each other and letting out a whole-hearted laugh.

Fran wiped the tears that formed in the lining of her eyes and shrugged. "Well, I've got my panties lost in worse places."

"Worse than being stuck in an ancient Greek vase?"

"If we dive into my past right now we aren't going to get any sleep tonight."

"A story for another time then." Maxwell joked. He looked over at her, for the first time feeling less uneasy about the whole thing now that he knew they could still laugh together. "Not to make this conversation more awkward, but do you know if we ah, did we use any protection? I don't remember, you know, doing that, and I couldn't find anything in my room when I looked."

"I don't think either of us thought about it."

"All right." He said, suddenly looking anxious again.

"Don't worry about it. I take birth control. And you don't have to worry about any diseases either, I haven't been with anybody since Danny. After how that all ended, I made sure to get checked right away and I was all clear."

"Okay, good." Maxwell said with a nod, then he paused a moment as he thought about what she just said. "Wait, you haven't been with anybody since before you lived here?" He asked, getting a head shake in response. "But you've dated quite a few men."

"Yeah, but I never slept with any of them."

"Wow."

"Wow? Don't act so surprised, it's not like I'm the neighborhood tramp or anything."

"No, I didn't think you were. I just assumed that after a couple years you would have wanted to be with at least one of those guys."

"I guess I just never felt that same spark with any of them. None of them made my heart beat faster just by looking at me, or take my breath away with their gorgeous smile, or kiss me with so much passion that I felt like we were the only two people left in the world."

"Like you felt with Danny?"

"Yeah, like that." She said, unconvincingly.

Maxwell wondered from her reaction if that was really who she meant, but he decided it was best not to get into that. "Well, I'm sure I don't have to tell you that you don't have to worry about me either."

"I figured as much." She said, both of them smiling lightly at each other.

"So, are we good?"

"Yeah, of course." Fran said, truthfully. "There was a lot going on and neither of us were in our right minds. We can just move past that all and pretend it never happened, chalk the whole thing up to a figment of our imaginations."

"That's probably best." Maxwell agreed, nodding his head as he glanced over at her. They both gazed into each other's eyes, not sure why it felt so difficult just to look away. He broke the contact, turning away and grabbing his mug off the counter. "I guess we should be getting back to bed."

"Not together though." She joked.

"No, not together." He replied with a chuckle. He started to walk away then stopped, looking back at her. "Miss Fine."

"Yeah?" She said, looking back at him.

"I'm sorry about last night."

"You don't have to apologize, we both were a part of what happened."

"No, I do." He said, taking a few steps closer to her again. "I may not have realized it at first, I did truly believe that it was some type of dream or fantasy, but the more I remember about last night, before we, before, I knew it wasn't. I felt things that I knew were real and I should have stopped us from going any further, but I didn't."

"You don't have to beat yourself up over it. I can't say for sure if I was fully convinced it was a dream or not, but even if I did know I don't know that I would have stopped it either. Let's just agree to let ourselves off the hook on this one."

"Very well." He agreed. "Goodnight, Miss Fine."

"Good night, Mister Sheffield." Fran said, watching him as he left the kitchen and headed back upstairs. She finished up her bagel then took her tea with her back to her bedroom. When she got into her room she set the mug on her nightstand, walking over to her black nightgown that was laying on the floor where she had lazily tossed it in the midst of her hangover this morning. She picked it up, getting ready to toss it in her hamper when she caught a whiff of a familiar scent. She lifted it up to her nose, taking in the aroma of his cologne that lingered on the garment.

Fran gasped for air as Maxwell rolled off of her and laid down beside her, trying to catch his breath as well. She was still trembling, the waves of her orgasm hitting like aftershocks throughout her body. She'd had pretty good sex a few times before, but this was on a whole other level. It wasn't just the raw heat between them and the desire for each other, but there was a deep passion and sense of comfort that allowed her to experience feelings that she hadn't had with anyone else.

Maxwell took one more deep breath before turning his head toward her, setting his hand gently on her chin and turning her head so that they were face to face. He admired her features, his eyes roaming around her face. She stared at him as he did so, her heart fluttering inside her chest. They both leaned in, kissing each other softly. They parted briefly, still close enough to feel their hot breath on one another's lips. At the same moment they opened up their eyes to each other, gazing affectionately.

He looked away, first shuffling around the blanket and pulling his pajama pants back up to cover himself. He shifted onto his side and set a hand on her waist, grabbing at her bunched-up gown and helping her pull it back down. She smiled sweetly at the gesture. She was used to guys ripping off her clothes beforehand, but she had never had one that cared about her afterwards.

Once they were all fixed back up he laid onto his back again, tucking his arm around her neck and pulling her closer to him. She wrapped her arm across his torso, laying her head on his shoulder.

"I hate that in the morning I'm gonna wake up and not be in your arms." Fran said, caressing his chest lazily as she began getting sleepier.

"Me too." Maxwell said, rubbing his chin against her forehead and placing a soft kiss atop her head. "We can enjoy it while it lasts though." He said, hugging her tighter before they both closed their eyes and savored their last awakened moments together.

Fran smiled to herself, moving the nightgown away from her face and giving it one last look before tossing it into her hamper. Maybe it was just some drunken mistake, but that night with him was more magical than any other night she had ever had. She kinda wished that it didn't have to be over already, but she knew that it was the right thing to do.

Knowing now that he hadn't been with anyone else in nearly six years because he was so destroyed by the loss of his wife, he was nowhere near ready to get involved with someone like her. At this point they were already close friends who lived together and were raising his children together, add in a relationship and they would basically be married right from the jump.

She walked over to her bed, getting on it and tucking herself under the covers. At least their conversation calmed her down enough to finally get some rest. Plus, if she was lucky, she would dream of him and be able to relive the moment. She closed her eyes, drifting peacefully off to sleep.

Chapter Text

Fran and Maxwell were both happy with the way they left things the evening after their unexpected night together. They were both adults and they didn't have to let a mistake that was just a step above lucid dreaming destroy the great relationship they had created with each other over the last couple years. All they needed to do was make believe that it had never even happened till one day the lie they told themselves didn't feel like a lie anymore.

It was a great plan. At least, that was true for the first couple of days. Right around that forty eight hour mark they both noticed something shift. Slowly at the beginning, the both of them found it harder to act normal together. They spent more time in awkward silences, their conversation stalling as soon as everyone else was out of the room. Where they had usually sought each other out if they hadn't seen one another in a couple hours, it was now them going out of their way to stay apart for as long as they were able to without it interfering with work. There was no more playful banter, no more innocent flirting and certainly no touching of any sort.

Fran couldn't figure out what changed. It wasn't at all one sided, she felt it too, but he had definitely been the one to pull away first. She wondered if he was starting to rethink their whole situation. They said that they would move past it all, but was that really something they could do? Realistically, how much sense did it make for him to keep around a nanny that he couldn't even stand being in the same room with anymore? What if they had messed things up too badly and he decided to let her go because of it?

These questions kept eating at her. She loved those three kids like they were her own, in her mind they were. She had watched them all come out of their shells in the short time she had been there, each growing closer as a family. And what would she do without having her best friend Niles around, sharing secrets and entertaining each other with their jokes and torments toward C.C. Hell, she would even miss C.C.. That is something she never thought she would admit.

Not to mention Mister Sheffield. How could she go without seeing him everyday? She knows he is just supposed to be her boss, but truthfully he was so much more than that. Right off the bat there was a connection. It was more than just an attraction, though that was certainly there too. They just clicked in all the right ways. As much as he pretended to be annoyed with her unconventional methods and ridiculous rambling anecdotes, she knew he really enjoyed her company as much as she enjoyed his. It wasn't lost on her that she had him wrapped around her little finger either, changing every opinion on an idea he was against the second she mentioned that she was on board with it.

Honestly, she often thought that one day they would end up together. Not in a we got loopy and accidently hooked up kinda way. In a real falling madly in love, getting married and sharing the rest of their lives together. Maybe that was just a delusion she had created in her head after so many years of her mother pushing her towards the idea of finding the perfect man to settle down with and have a family. Why would he want her? He was an extremely charming, sophisticated handsome millionaire that could have his pick at any woman he wanted. And she was just the woman that lucked out and managed to weasel her way into becoming his nanny.

She hoped more than anything that she was wrong about what was going on, but not finding any other reason for his sudden behavior change she doubted she was. Still, she wasn't just going to allow things to keep going the way they had been the last few weeks. She decided right then that things were going to go back to the way they used to whether he was ready for it or not. All she had to do was push her way back into his life in the same way she had the first time around.

In Maxwell's office he sat at his desk, his elbows propped on the surface and his head resting on his hand as he read through the manuscripts that C.C. had weeded out for him to go over. Normally he enjoyed picking through the stories people had created and finding the inspiration behind them. Today however, he was not the least bit interested in random words on a sheet of paper. He took off his glasses, rubbing his eyes in frustration.

"Something the matter, sir?" Niles asked, looking over at him from where he was sorting through the scripts he had already passed on and loading them into a cardboard carton.

"These scripts." Maxwell said, flipping it closed. "They are all rubbish."

"I thought the one with the restaurant workers who started a poker ring in the basement was rather good." He stated, getting a grimace in return. "But that is just a butler's opinion, I'm no Broadway producer."

"You really don't like that script at all?" C.C. asked from where she sat on the sofa. "I thought it was such a great love story between the two main characters."

"You think this is a great love story?" Maxwell asked skeptically, picking up the script and waving it around a little as he spoke. "I mean, this man claims to be madly in love with this beautiful woman, but I don't see it at all. Where is the passion? Where is the lust? Where is the longing for her?" He said, smacking the outside of his hand onto the pages. "They are together the whole entire play and they share what? A few glances and a couple of lousy kisses. If he really had these strong feelings for her then she would be consuming his every thought. He wouldn't be able to keep his eyes off of her the moment she walked into the room. In fact, he wouldn't be able to stand being in the same room with her without wanting to throw her down on the closest surface he could find and make love to her." He explained enthusiastically, tossing the script back on his desk. "This, this isn't a love story."

Niles and C.C. both stared over at him, C.C.'s mouth hung open and Niles' eyes widened with surprise over this sudden outburst of emotions that he didn't realize he had anymore. Maxwell looked over at the both of them, suddenly feeling embarrassed over how far he went with that description.

"I ah-" Maxwell started, pausing awkwardly. "I just think there are better scripts out there somewhere that we could find."

"Oh, I'm gonna start looking for those." C.C. said, grinning wickedly. "Believe me."

Niles picked up a script off the end table, walking over and holding it out to her. "Here." He said, handing it over to her.

"This is a copy of the same exact script I'm reading." She said, looking it over.

"Yes, but this one isn't covered in drool." Niles said snidely. "You should really talk to your vet about remedies for that." He said as he wiped his finger on the corner of her lips, getting a quick swat of the hand back.

Maxwell picked his glasses back up, putting them on as he grabbed for another script off his desk. He needed to cool it down a little as he was starting to unravel from the newfound thoughts he'd been having.

A few weeks back he had such faith in his ability to move on from the night he had spent together with Fran, fully confident that it was just some mishap they could get past if they ignored whatever feelings they felt for each other that evening. If only the rest of his conscious had been able to stick to that plan, he would be fine right now instead of a hot mess with only one thing on his mind. Miss Fine.

The more he remembered about them being together over the couple days following their hook up, the more he struggled to let it all go. He enjoyed sex just as much as the next guy, but even at a younger more vibrant age, he had never obsessed about it quite this badly. He couldn't even believe it himself, yet every time he was around her he hungered for that same feeling again.

He felt terrible about the whole thing. Just to avoid having to face his urges he had shut her out completely, doing everything he could so that they weren't even in the same room with each other. In a way it helped a little, but he began to miss her tremendously. She always had a way of improving his mood just by being in his vicinity, even when she was driving him crazy. He hoped more than anything that they could get back to how they used to be, though this infatuation with her wasn't going to make it any easier.

The office door flung open in a manner that made it clear who was coming in before he had even looked, his breath hitched as soon he looked up and saw her joyfully entering the room with her eyes on him.

"Miss Fine." Maxwell said, more as a statement to himself than an acknowledgement.

Fran walked over next to his desk with a piece of paper in hand, a smile on her face as she tried to play off that everything was normal again. "The kids are all off to school and Brighton reminded me that he still needs money for his field trip next week." She explained, his eyes plastered on her the whole time. "Can you write a check?"

"Ah, what do you need me to check?" Maxwell asked, taking off his glasses and looking at her attire. A short skirt and a thin strapped skin tight blouse, she really wasn't making this any easier for him.

"A check, not to check." She corrected, wiggling the form in her hand. "For Brighton's field trip."

"Right, yes, of course." Maxwell said, pulling his eyes away from her and taking the form. "I'll ah, need my checkbook and I left that out in the living room." He mentioned, looking over at Niles who was carrying a large stack of manuscripts. "Niles, could you?"

"Why, yes, sir." Niles said, glaring over at him. "Let me just put down fifty pounds of wasted potential first." He said, looking for somewhere near him to set down the scripts.

"Funny, isn't that what your mother used to say before she set you down in your crib?" C.C. snickered, sneering up at him.

"Look, here's a good spot." He said, setting them all down on the table next to her and purposely tipping them to one side so they would fall all over her. "Whoopsies."

C.C. glared up at him, gathered up the few scripts on her lap that hadn't fallen to the floor while Niles stepped over the pile on the floor and went to get the checkbook.

Fran chuckled as C.C. attempted to pick up the scripts off the floor, unable to get them stable enough on her lap to keep them from falling right back to the floor every time. "Here, let me help you." She said, not wanting to have her struggle even longer as she walked over near the sofa to help.

Maxwell froze in place as he saw her bend over, his mouth opening slightly as he watched the way she bopped her backend around to help gather up the scripts. Did she even have to find a way to make that even sexier? He couldn't tear his eyes away, swallowing the saliva that had formed in his mouth as he continued to scan her up and down. He was so fixated on her that he hadn't even noticed Niles come back into the room till he spoke.

"Sir, your checkbook." Niles said, holding back a grin as he patted on the leather booklet he had set on his desk several moments before without going noticed.

"What?" Maxwell said as he kept an eye on Fran, suddenly reminding himself that there were other people in the room and quickly turning his head toward Niles. "Oh, thank you." He said, making no attempts to grab the checkbook. At this point he couldn't even remember why he needed it in the first place. He momentarily glanced back over at her as she stood back up straight, handing all the papers she had over to Niles as he walked back over to them.

"Try to keep a hold of them this time" Fran said, winking as she playfully nudged him and they both smirked. She looked back over at Maxwell, noticing that his eyes were already on her. She smiled over at him as she walked to his desk and hopped on the edge of it in her famous way, crossing her legs neatly together. She expected him to say something or grab the checkbook, instead his gaze lingered to her bare legs and stayed there. "Mister Sheffield?"

Maxwell shot his eyes back to her face, feeling ridiculous for letting himself get caught gawking at her yet again. "Yes, Miss Fine."

"Are you gonna get me that check for the field trip?"

"The field trip, yes, that's what I needed my checkbook for." He said, nervously thinking out loud as he grabbed the checkbook and opened it up. When he went to reach for his pen, Fran did the same and their hands touched. He jumped at the contact and pulled away fast like he had just touched a hot flame, the both of them staring at each other as they felt the sparks from one simple touch. She smiled at him shyly, picking up the pen and holding it out to him. "Thank you." He said, taking it from her and signing the check. "Here you go." He muttered, ripping the check off and holding it out to her.

"Thank you." Fran said, the both of them staring back at one another as she reached out and took it from him.

The way he lustfully gazed at her made it impossible for her to turn away, getting locked in a trance as they surveyed the others' facial features. She watched as he tucked in his bottom lip, wetting it with his tongue. Had he always looked at her this way or was she just overthinking the whole thing?

C.C. looked up from her script, following Niles' gleeful expression over to the both of them. She was taken aback, not having seen Maxwell look at a woman like that since his late wife, and she didn't like to see it then either. "Maxwell, are you all finished with those scripts?" She said, breaking their daze.

"Yes." Maxwell said, clumsily collecting the scripts on his desk and making them into a single pile. "I'm done with them."

"You know, since you turned down all of them it's quite a bit for me to haul on my own." C.C. pointed out as she stood up and started walking over their way. Maxwell glanced down at his lap, scooting his chair in more to hide his sudden arousal before she got close enough to notice. "You could help me bring them over to the recycling center, maybe stop off at that little French restaurant across the street and grab a bite to eat and a martini."

"Uhm, well-" He paused, looking downward and knowing there was no way he was going to be able to stand up right now. "I actually can't help you with that today."

"Oh, why's that?" She asked, disappointed.

"I hurt my shoulder pretty badly yesterday when I was playing catch with the kids, I'm afraid I can't really lift anything heavy."

"I didn't realize you had gotten hurt." Niles chimed in. "Would you like me to get you something for the pain? An ice pack, some ibuprofen?"

"No, I already iced it earlier and I took something a little while ago." He said, hoping that no one would catch onto the fact that he did neither. "But you could go with C.C. and help her get those scripts recycled." He suggested, the both of them making a face at the idea of it.

"I guess." Niles said with a puff of breath, grabbing one of the cartons. "Come on, Babcock, let's go." He said, whistling for her to follow him as he walked over to the door.

C.C. rolled her eyes, grabbing the other carton and heading out of the room. Niles gave one last look back at the two of them, smirking when he saw that they were already looking each other over again. He walked out of the office, using his foot to close the door behind him.

The second the door closed Maxwell looked frightenedly over at it, feeling like he had just been trapped in the exact situation he was trying so desperately to avoid. He swallowed hard, looking at Fran and letting out a nervous chuckle. They sat quietly for a few moments, neither of them knowing what to say now that they were alone.

Fran shook her head. She wasn't supposed to be chickening out like this, she was trying to get them back to their regular routine. Mustering up the nerve, she finally spoke, breaking the silence. "Which shoulder did you injure?"

"Ah, this one." He said, pointing to his left shoulder.

"What were you doing throwing with that arm? You're right-handed."

"I don't know." He said, not having thought that through. "Guess that might be why I hurt it."

"Well, here, let me massage it." Fran said, hopping down off the desk and standing beside him.

Maxwell put up a hand in protest. "No, Miss Fine, that's not necessary."

"Nonsense." She said, waving off his hand.

Maxwell glanced down as she stepped closer to him, adjusting in his chair to make sure she wouldn't notice his attraction to her. He looked back up at her as her hands went to his shoulder, starting to gently rub it.

"Not too hard, is it?" She asked, referring to the pressure.

"Funny you should ask." He thought to himself, clearing his throat before he spoke. "No, it's good."

"No wonder it hurts, you're so tense." She said, kneading at the tight muscles. "Try to relax a little."

Maxwell took her advice, taking a deep breath and letting his eyes drift shut as he enjoyed the feeling of her hands on his body again.

"See, it feels better when you relax, doesn't it?" Fran asked, noticing his calmer demeanor.

"Yes." He said blissfully. When he realized he was getting far too into the moment his eyes shot back open, switching to a more casual tone. "Yeah, it's definitely starting to feel better."

"Maybe when Niles gets back you should have him draw you a nice hot bath. When I'm sore the warm water and those jets do wonders."

"Maybe." He said, swallowing hard. Like that was really an image he needed in his head right now.

While she focused on his shoulder he watched her and let his mind wander to their night together. He could still picture what it was like to have her pressed up against him, the way they fit perfectly together like they were always meant to be that way. Her scent was intoxicating, the same one that lingered on his bed sheets for days after she had slept in them. He peeked down at her legs, thinking about how he got to run his hand along them. He wished he could remember better what it felt like to have her bare skin on his fingertips.

In a moment of pure weakness, he reached his hand out slowly and ran it gently down the side of her leg. Fran jumped at the sudden contact, removing her hands from his shoulder and taking a step back. He mirrored her reaction and moved away, tightening his hand against his chest so it was nowhere near her.

"Oh my god." Maxwell said, panicking as he looked up at her shocked expression. "Miss Fine, I'm so sorry."

"It's alright." Fran said, putting both her hands up and waving them to dismiss his apology.

"No, it's not." He said, sternly.

"Really, it's fine." She reassured. "I'm just a little on the edge, that's why I reacted like that."

"No, I should never have done that, especially after everything that happened. Oh god, what you must think of me."

"Mister Sheffield."

"Oh, please forgive me."

"Mister Sheffield." She repeated, trying to get him out of this spiral.

"I'm so sorry."

Fran shook her head as she took a step forward, clearly not getting her point across. She reached over and grabbed his hand, pulling it toward her and setting it back on her upper leg just at the hem of her skirt. She held it in place, watching the stunned look on his face as he stopped rambling and stared at where she had placed his hand. She let go leaving him to keep it there on his own, running both her hands up his arms and onto his shoulders.

"I told you, it didn't bother me at all. I was just surprised." She explained, his eyes going up to meet hers.

"I don't know what has come over me." Maxwell said, starting to rub her leg lightly as he continued. "Ever since that night, I haven't been able to get you out of my mind."

Fran felt her heart pound in her chest, finally understanding why he had been pushing her away the last few weeks. "I haven't been able to stop thinking about it either."

"It's very distracting, isn't it?" He asked, pinching her skin lightly between his fingers.

"Yes, very distracting." She agreed, running her hands back down his arms. "It's so hard to get through a day of work when I keep thinking about how you grabbed my hands and held them so tightly as you ran those feather light kisses up my arms." She said, letting go of him and tracing a hand up her other arm to mimic the feeling.

Maxwell removed his hand from her leg and took both of her hands into his, clutching them as he pulled the left one closer to his face. He closed his eyes and leaned in, placing a gentle kiss on the inside of her wrist. "Like that?" He asked, opening his eyes and gazing back up at her as he kissed a little higher.

"Ah, ha." She replied blissfully, admiring him as he continued up her arm.

"I know exactly what you mean." He said, kissing up near her shoulder. "I keep picturing the way you climbed on top of me and kneeled over me, pushing your gorgeous body against mine and running your hands through my hair."

Fran raised her eyebrow, staring down at him as she pushed his chair away from the desk just enough for her to step in front of him. She kneeled a leg slowly onto each side of him and climbed on top of him. His hands went to her hips, pulling her against him. She gasped at the contact, not expecting him to be that forward, though she certainly wasn't against it. She let her hand roam to his hair, brushing it back seductively and making his eyes flutter shut.

"I don't know what is happening to me, I'm not usually like this." He stated, moving his head along with the motion of her hands. "You're making me lose all control." He told her, opening his eyes back up to look at her as he rubbed his hands on her lower back.

"Maybe the reason we can't stop thinking about that night is because it all felt like a dream. Neither of us were in our right minds and we built up all this sexual tension, yet we hardly remember the satisfaction we got from it, so those feelings are just lingering now."

"How do we stop feeling like this?"

"We just need to get it out of our systems."

"How do you suppose we do that?" He asked, running a hand up to her face and tracing his knuckles from her ear down to her chin.

They shared a long gaze then like gravity they both leaned in, wrapping their arms around one another tightly as they went in for a hungry kiss. The force from each of them caused them to rock back and forth in the chair, adding a whole other level of passion to the kiss. Her tongue slipped between his parted lip, brushing it between his and the roof of his mouth. When they ran out of breath to continue their euphoric moment got cut off and they pulled apart, resting their forehead on one another's and breathing heavily into each other's mouth.

Maxwell opened his eyes into hers, both finally catching their breath. "So, we do this one more time and then we will be able to move past it?"

"Just one more time and everything can go back to normal." She said, the both of them nodding in agreement as they went back in for another kiss.

Fran grabbed at his tie, yanking at it till it came undone and tossing it across the room. Her hands went to his shirt buttons as he did the same on hers, unbuttoning them from the top down. Without breaking contact they each grabbed their own shirt and slipped it off their shoulders, tossing them off to the side. Maxwell finally broke away from her lips, his eyes wandering down to her laced chest. He didn't remember everything from their night together, but he knew they barely managed to get any of their clothes off. The last time he had seen her this dressed down was a few months back when he caught her in her bedroom with that male nanny, the one he pretended he wasn't insanely jealous about. Back then he fought the urge to ogle her, today those urges were losing by a long shot.

"I don't know what you're looking so fascinated about." Fran said, getting his attention. "You haven't seen anything yet." She added, smirking at him as she reached back and unhooked her bra. She pulled it off and let it fall to the floor, leaving her chest fully exposed.

Maxwell glanced back down, his eyebrows lifting and eyes widening slightly as he saw her bare chest for the first time. "Yup, that's definitely more fascinating." He said, his voice shaky.

Fran let him enjoy the view for a moment before she set her finger on his chin and lifted his head back up to her, bringing him back to reality. She held onto his face as she leaned in, kissing him fiercely. He started putting pressure on her lower back intermediately, creating a riveting friction between their bodies and making her moan into his mouth. With each motion he slid his hands down further, slipping them under the waistband of her skirt and onto her rear end. As soon as he felt her bare skin on his hands he pulled his face back a few inches, furrowing his brow.

"Are you not wearing any underwear?"

"The only pair I own that doesn't create unflattening lines with this skirt is stuck in your vase." She said with a soft chuckle.

"So, you were just casually prancing around my office with no knickers on?"

"It's not the first time either." She said with a smirk, making him take a sharp intake of breath.

"You're going to be the death of me, you know that?"

Fran leaned in next to his ear and whispered, "Well, if you're gonna go, we better make this worth it." She pulled back with a wink, her hands going to his belt and unbuckling it.

Maxwell looked down as she undid his trousers, dragging his zipper down at a painfully slow pace. He bit at his lip, suppressing the pleasure he was feeling. He watched as her hands went to his waistband then he slid his own hands off her backside and gripped them before she had the chance to go any further.

"Miss Fine." He said, both of them looking back up at each other. "Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I'm sure." She said, grinning as she nodded at him.

That was the only reassurance he needed, releasing her and letting her pull his pants down while his hand went to the ends of her skirt and pulled them up over her hips. They kept their eyes locked on each other while she took him into her hands, guiding him to her opening. With only the tip in she let go of him, setting both her hands on the back of his chair as she slowly slid down further. Once he was fully inside her she let out a soft moan, laying forward and leaning her bare chest on his. He closed his eyes, resting his head on her shoulder as he gave himself a few seconds to calm down. When he felt confident he started moving his hips at a slow pace, thrusting into her. He kissed her shoulder, trailing over to her neck then down her chest. He reached up and covered one breast with his hand, kneading at it as his mouth went to the other and sucked lightly on her nipple.

"Oh, Mister Sheffield." Fran moaned, her head falling back in delight.

Once he gave her chest a good amount of attention he started kissing back up to her mouth, placing a few brief kisses on her lips before he leaned back and lifted his hand up to her neck. He rubbed his thumb gently across her cheek as he looked into her eyes.

"My god, you really are beautiful." He stated, brushing his fingers along her bottom lip.

Fran smiled warmly. "You're not so bad yourself, mister."

Maxwell ran his hand to the back of her head and roughly pulled her to his lips, kissing her intensely as he sped up his movements inside her. He gripped her hips tightly, pulling her down harder onto him with each stroke. They kissed soppily as they got distracted by the pure bliss they were feeling.

After a few minutes he decided he still wasn't getting enough of her, wanting to intensify the experience he hooked his hand under both her thighs and stood up quickly. He pulled her legs and wrapped them around his body, causing her to break away from his lips and scream out. He worried for a moment that he might have hurt her, but her devilish grin confirmed that wasn't at all the case.

He didn't waste any more time and pushed all the contents of his desk onto the floor, plopping her down onto the surface and plunging into her further. They kissed again, but they had become more of harsh breaths and moans into each other's mouths. When she couldn't concentrate any longer she broke free from his lips, resting her chin on his shoulder and calling out his name.

Feeling her start to tighten around him he dropped his hand to her back end, squeezing her ass as he pumped into her faster. Her mouth gaped open wide, whimpering into his ear with each plunge until she couldn't even make a sound anymore. He took that as a good sign that he could finally let go, making little 'ah' sounds while he kept a steady pace till he felt his own release. Both his hands dropped onto the desk behind her, holding himself up as he slowed down and rode out the last few waves of their orgasms. They both stilled, resting on one another while they caught their breath again.

Maxwell pushed off the desk and propped himself back up, helping her sit up straighter as he did so. He leaned in and brushed his nose against hers, going in for a gentle kiss. When they pulled away they stared at each other a few moments, the realization of what they did finally hitting them. His eyes shifted down, pulling himself out of her and fixing her skirt. He reached down and pulled his pants back up, buttoning them closed before walking over and picking up their clothing from the floor. He stepped back over to her and held out her bra and blouse, handing them to her.

"Thank you." Fran said, taking them from him then starting to get dressed. While they buttoned back up their shirts then glanced over at each other, smiling sheepishly. "We're definitely not gonna forget that one."

Maxwell chuckled, shaking his head. "Nope, definitely not." After his shirt was all buttoned back up and tucked in he ran his belt through the loops on his pants, buckling it back up as he looked around. "Do you know where my tie went?"

"Uhm, I threw it that way I think." She said, pointing off to the left.

"Ah, there it is." Maxwell said, going over and grabbing it off the potted plant in the corner of the room. He set it on his shoulders and started walking back over to where she was still sitting atop his desk. "Could you? I don't have a mirror."

"Yeah, let me." Fran said, taking both ends of it into her hands. She could feel his eyes on her the whole time, forming a similar knot in her stomach as she was making on his necktie. When she had it to her satisfaction she finally looked back up at him, locking eyes with him. After a few moments they both started to lean in, their moment getting cut short when they heard the office door start to open. She pushed him back and hopped off his desk, taking a few quick steps away from him.

"I am not helping that animal with anything anymore!" Niles called out as he walked into the room. "She ran me over with a dolly full of very heavy manuscripts just because I pointed out the sign that listed the things you couldn't bring into the recycling center."

Fran glanced over at him skeptically. "She ran you over just because you pointed out a sign?"

"While I may have pointed to the old bags and mentioned that we were gonna have to go somewhere else to go because she wasn't going to be allowed in the facility."

"Ah, ha." She said with an amused smile.

Niles squinted, looking near her feet. "Why is there stuff all over the floor?" He asked, all of them glancing down at the pile of objects they disregarded.

"I ah-" Fran started, pausing for a moment as she thought. "I saw a bug on the desk and sort of freaked out."

"I didn't know you were that afraid of bugs."

"Okay, he freaked out." Fran said, pointing over at Maxwell.

Niles' eyes went over to Maxwell, who still hadn't said a word since he had entered the office and looked away from him like a guilty child. He noticed them both glance awkwardly at each other then he took in their appearances. Both were sweaty and red faced. Her blouse was done up unevenly, one button higher than it should have been. His hair was a mess, the sides sticking out where they normally were slicked back. "Oh, well, that I believe." He said, smirking as he played into their lie. He walked over near them, starting to pick up the stuff off the floor.

"I'm ah, I'm gonna go and get a few things done before the kids get back from school." Fran said, walking toward the door.

"Miss Fine." Niles said, causing her to turn back around. "Are you forgetting what you came in here for?"

"What?" She said, nervously.

"Don't you need this?" He asked, picking up the field trip form and check off the floor and holding it up.

"Oh, yes." Fran said, walking back over and taking it from him. "Thank you, Niles." She said, turning away and leaving the room quickly.

Maxwell watched as she left, staring off at the door even after she had shut it and was long gone.

"Did you still need Miss Fine for something else?" Niles asked, pulling him out of his trance.

"No, we finished." Maxwell said, wincing at his words. "I mean, we were finished."

Niles nodded, setting everything back on the desk. "How is your shoulder?"

"My shoulder?" He asked, confused for a moment till he remembered his fib. "Oh, my shoulder. Much better."

"Yes, you certainly seem much better." Niles replied with a smirk.

Chapter Text

Only a couple weeks had passed since Fran and Maxwell had decided to hook up again in hopes of finally getting it out of their systems. Yet another unsuccessful plan if they had anything to say about it. Not only did those same feelings stay, but they had also gotten even stronger. It had gotten to the point where every time they got close to each other they would have to use all their willpower to avoid repeating the one thing that had gotten them into this mess.

It wasn't a total loss though, not just because the sex was amazing, but it had also allowed them to feel far less awkward around each other. Now that they both knew the effect they had on one another they didn't have to be ashamed about the way they were feeling. They were able to go back to their flirting, albeit not quite as innocent feeling now.

They knew it wasn't going to be easy, but as long as they continued to fight their urges there was actually a chance of their relationship going back to normal, or at least as normal as anything between the two of them could be.

"What about this one of you out trick or treating?" Fran asked, holding a photo up for Gracie to look at as the both of them sat at the kitchen table.

"I don't know, I look a little chunky in that one." She replied, not looking pleased with it.

"Honey, you're dressed up as The Giant Peach. That costume would make Kate Moss look chunky."

"We can put it in the maybe pile."

"Alright." Fran said, setting the photo in the stack as Maxwell walked into the kitchen with a mug in hand.

"Hi sweetheart." Maxwell said, leaning down and kissing his daughter on the forehead. "Miss Fine." He added, formally.

"Mister Sheffield." Fran greeted, smiling up at him.

"You both suddenly get the urge to pull out every dusty old photo we have?" He asked, leaning a hand on the back of Gracie's chair as he picked up a baby photo of her with the other and admired it.

"It's my turn to make an 'All About Me' poster to show to my class and we're finding photos to put on it." Gracie explained.

"Oh, that sounds like fun." Maxwell said, setting the photo he had picked up back in the pile. "And it looks like you got a lot of good ones picked out."

"That's the maybe pile." Fran corrected. "This is the for sure pile." She said, pointing to one photo on the table.

"I'm actually rethinking that one now." Gracie said with a grimace.

Fran picked the photo up, adding it to the top of the much larger pile. "I'm getting flashbacks to '87 when my mother got picked as Marathon lover of the year and I had to help her sort through at least a hundred photos we had taken to pick one for the cover page of their newsletter."

"Your mother ran marathons?" Maxwell asked, surprised.

"No." She said, shaking her head as he looked back at her with squinted eyes. "I'll tell ya, it wasn't easy either. She had caramel and nougat stuck in her teeth in two-thirds of them."

"Okay, well, carry on then." Maxwell said, walking over to the kitchen counter to pour himself another cup of coffee.

Fran grabbed out a stack from one of the boxes and started flipping through them, stopping when one caught her eye. "Oh my god!" She said, setting the others down and clutching it to her chest.

"What is it, Miss Fine? You find a good one?" Maxwell asked, walking back over to them as he took a sip of his coffee.

"Did I ever." She said, smirking up at him. "Mister Sheffield, did you do any modeling back in the day?"

"No." He said, confused.

"Oh, so wearing nothing but short shorts and a puka shell necklace was a personal choice?" She said, making his eyes widen.

"Give me that." Maxwell said, grabbing for the photo as she stood up off the chair and moved away from him.

"No way! Do you know how much money I could make off of selling this? I could retire." She joked, letting out a small chuckle as she peeked at the photo again. "Are you covered in baby oil?"

"We were only in Miami one day, I was trying to get a tan." He defended, setting down his mug on the table then he stepped towards her quickly and tried to grab it again.

"Woah there, mister, you better slow down a little, you could fall." She said, holding up a hand to him.

"Why would I fall walking around in the kitchen?"

"The tile on these floors can get really slippery, especially if you have any kind of, I don't know, oils on." She said, smirking wide at him before she took off in the other direction.

"You get back here." Maxwell said, chasing after her and around the kitchen island a couple times before he got in front of her near the kitchen table again.

Fran stopped, finally caught with nowhere to go. She saw him reach for it again then she held it out to Gracie. "Quick, take this and run from daddy." She told her, the little girl grabbing the photo from her and hopping up out of her chair to run.

Maxwell took off after his daughter but as he got close again they handed it off to each other and took off in the other direction. The photo got passed between them a few times and landed in Fran's hands lastly as he got a hold of her wrist and pulled her toward him.

"Ah, I gotcha." Maxwell said, holding onto her as he reached for the photo that she was holding as far away from him as possible. "Give me that photo."

"Navah!" Fran said, laughing as she tried to pull her way out of his grasp and continued backing up till she hit the island.

"You don't have anywhere else to go so you might as well hand it over." He pointed out, getting a shake of the head in return. He let go of her wrist, using both hands to try and grab it away from her as he took a step forward and pinned her between him and the counter.

The second their bodies pressed together they both froze, their breath hitching. The last time they had let themselves be this close to each other was the day in his office, the last time they gave into their impulses. As they stared back at one another, they wondered how they had managed to go this long without feeling the warmth of each other's body.

They were both pulled out of their trance when Gracie climbed up on the barstool and onto the counter, grabbing the photo out of Fran's hand while Maxwell took a step back away from her.

"I got it, Fran!" Gracie said, waving it as she hopped back down.

Both of them watched as she took off, running out of the kitchen and leaving them alone in the room together. They glanced back at each other, sharing a longing gaze. Maxwell started to take a step forward again when the kitchen door swung back open then he moved off to the side of her instead as Niles entered the room.

"Did you let Miss Gracie have those sugary cereals again?" Niles asked, walking over to the sink and disregarding a few empty glasses he had in his hands.

"No, why?" Maxwell asked, trying to act casual.

"She just ran squealing passed me and up the stairs."

"She's helping me stop Mister Sheffield from getting ahold of an old photo of himself that could definitely benefit us around bonus time." Fran explained with raised eyebrows. "Have you seen his famous Miami beach photo?"

"Seen it? Who do you think helped him put on the baby oil?"

Fran squinted to herself. "Well, that's a little more information than was needed."

"Did you get to the one from when Master Brighton talked him into dressing up as Robin to his Batman?"

"No!" Fran said with a gasp. "With the little tights and everything?"

"Is there any other way?" Niles asked then Fran went running back over to the photos.

"Okay, all right." Maxwell said, walking back over to the kitchen table with her. "I think we are about through with photo time." He said, holding a hand out to block her from grabbing more.

Niles walked over to Fran, leaning in next to her. "Don't worry, I'll show you the copies I made later." He whispered, nudging her lightly before he headed back out of the room.

Maxwell glanced over at Fran awkwardly, not sure what to say now that they were alone together again. He cleared his throat as he looked down at the poster board on the table, running his hand over a photo of Gracie sitting in Fran's lap as she hugged her tightly. "This is a great picture of the two of you."

"Oh, yeah, that's one of the few that Gracie approved of already." Fran said, smiling as she admired it as well.

"You made it into the family section I see." He pointed out.

"I hope that's okay, Gracie glued it on there."

"It's more than okay." He said, smiling over at her. "You are our family, Miss Fine."

"Thank you." She said, smiling back. "You don't know how grateful I am to have been welcomed into a family like this. I never wanna do anything to mess it up."

"Me neither." He agreed, both of their expressions turning more serious. "So, we should probably talk about the elephant in the room?"

"You mean discussing how we are going to avoid jumping each other every time we are alone together?"

"I mean, I probably would have put it a different way, but yes."

Fran smirked at his discomfort. "I think we are going to have to accept the fact that we are both very attracted to each other so there are going to be times when those sexual feelings show up. We just are going to have to find a way to avoid any of those temptations, even if it means distancing from one another from time to time when those urges are getting too intense."

"I suppose that would be a good idea. If things are getting a little too heated we can just go our separate ways to cool off."

"That's why I've gone through a gallon and a half of rocky road this week."

"That's nothing. I've taken so many cold showers that our gas bill actually went down this month." Maxwell said, both of them chuckling. After the laughing died down he gazed over at her for a few moments then looked away. "All right, I'm gonna go get some candy and try to bribe Gracie into giving me that photo back."

"Good luck, but she knows who has her favorite cookies at the ready, she's no traitor." Fran joked, watching as he walked out of the room. She took a small breath, turning back to the table. "Okay, now where is that Robin photo at?" She said, digging back into the piles as she took a seat.

The next few days they successfully avoided any situation that would tempt them into doing the one thing that neither of them could seem to get their minds off doing. It wasn't easy, the longer they went without each other, the more they wanted to give up on their stupid idea to just move past everything. They had taken it upon themselves to stay as far apart as possible. That didn't mean not seeing each other, but if they had the chance to be on separate sides of the room, they gladly took it.

Today had been a partially hard day for the both of them. Maybe it was because spring was in the air or maybe it was just because they had so much time fighting those feelings that it was becoming too exhausting to repress their desires. It made them start to wonder if they would ever be able to truly get over this newfound need for one another.

Maxwell had spent the last few hours cooped up in his office, throwing himself into his work in hopes to keep his mind off of things. It wasn't helping the slightest, only tiring him to the point where he didn't want to look at another theater related piece of paper.

He gathered up the papers on his desk and tucked them into a folder, setting it into his desk before getting up and vacating his office for the evening. With any luck he'd be able to find one of the kids and see if they were up to hanging out with their father to destress him a little. He walked through the doors into the living room, seeing all three of them along with Fran and Niles sitting in front of the television. He shared a few glances with Fran before he started walking over next to the couch.

"It's Friday night, don't you think it'd be better spent doing something besides watching television?" Maxwell asked, looking at the program they all seemed far too interested in.

"Dad, we can't miss this episode. It's the season finale." Maggie pointed out.

"So?" He said, confused.

"Big things always happen during the finale and they usually end on some major cliffhanger." Fran pointed out.

"I never got why they do that." Brighton said.

"It's a ploy to keep their viewers coming back and to make the network renew for another season." Gracie explained, tossing a piece of popcorn into her mouth as she watched intently.

"It seems like a waste of an evening. We could play a board game or bake some cookies." He said, all of them groaning at the idea as they kept their eyes on the screen.

"Sir, if you're bored, why don't you just join us?" Niles suggested, looking over at him from the armchair.

"I don't know." Maxwell said, unsurely. He didn't hate the idea of getting to spend some time with them after hiding out for most of the day, but he couldn't help but notice the only spot left was on the couch right beside the woman he was doing his best to keep some distance from.

"Come on, daddy, watch it with us." Gracie said, smiling up at him from where she sat on the floor in front of the couch.

"Oh, all right." Maxwell caved, stepping over to the couch and taking a seat beside Fran. He hadn't realized till he was sitting down just how far to his side she was, shuffling around his arm as he tried to figure out where to put it comfortably. He hesitantly set it behind her, resting it on the back end of the couch as he settled in.

Fran kept her eyes trained on the television, her body as still as possible. She tried her best to pretend it wasn't bothering her having him this close to her in that black long sleeve henley that she loved on him and the scent of his Aramis cologne lingering in the air. When she couldn't fight it any longer she glanced over at him, smiling lightly when he noticed her before looking right back to the television.

Maxwell smiled to himself, keeping his eyes on her even after she looked away. She was awfully cute when she was nervous. He wasn't used to seeing that emotion from her. Then again, he wasn't used to feeling that way either, but they seemed to have a way to bring it out of each other. He felt her hair brush against his arm as she shifted slightly and he looked back at it resting on his hand. He moved his arm back, reaching to the back of her hair and playing with the curls in his hand.

Fran's eyes shot back over to him, causing him to jolt his hand away and set it on the couch again like a little kid who had just been caught with their hand in the cookie jar.

"So, uhm." Maxwell said, clearing his throat. "What is going on between those two?" He asked, nodding toward the characters on the television and pretending as though he was interested in anything other than the person sitting so close to him that he could feel every little movement she made.

"Oh, it's actually pretty crazy." Maggie started. "They have been good friends for a couple years now and they always kinda had this will they won't they kind of relationship. It never went any further than that until they both got put under hypnosis and they ended up fooling around. Now all they want is to go back to being just friends again, but they can't stop thinking about each other in that way.

Maxwell rolled his eyes, cursing himself for even asking. He and Fran exchanged awkward glances, both of them looking back at the television to watch how these fictional characters dealt with a problem that they were living through.

"This isn't a good idea. We shouldn't be alone together, not after everything that happened, not with how we have been feeling."

Fran listened to the female character, her words mirroring her own thoughts. She looked over at Maxwell, his eyes landing on her as the male character began to speak.

"Maybe if we are feeling things this strongly, we shouldn't be trying so hard to ignore it. Maybe it's time we surrender and see what happens."

Maxwell swallowed hard, his breath getting heavier as they stared at one another.

"But we agreed that we wouldn't let it happen again."

"I know, I know what we agreed. I know that we could ruin our friendship if we keep going this way, but I can't help it anymore. Everytime I see you, every time I am near you, all I can think about is how badly I want you. How badly I need you. Don't you feel the same way?"

"Of course I feel the same way."

"Okay, so, what's stopping us then?

As if they were saying the words to each other, Fran and Maxwell subconsciously started to lean into each other, forgetting for a moment that the rest of the world existed. That is till they were startled back away from each other by the sudden reactions of the people in the room.

"Oh, come on!" Niles called out.

"No, that's where they are ending it!" Brighton said at the same time.

"We have to wait months just to find out what happens between them!" Maggie said, annoyed.

"I told you, they just want to make sure you watch next season." Gracie pointed out.

"Can you believe they did that, Fran?" Maggie asked, looking over at Fran who was still eyeing Maxwell. "Fran?"

Fran finally turned away, looking over at Maggie. "Yeah?"

"I said can you believe they ended it like that?"

"Ah, no, I can't." She said, not really caring much about the show at the moment.

"They gotta end up together though, who are they even trying to kid?" Brighton said. "I mean, did you see the way they were looking at each other?"

Fran glanced back at Maxwell momentarily then cleared her throat. "Y'know, I'm getting pretty tired already. I'm gonna head upstairs."

"Didn't you want to watch 'Most Wanted' to see if that girl you went to high school with made the cut?" Maggie asked.

"Nah, I'm sure Val is taping it. Right now the only thing I can think about is getting in bed." She said, everyone saying night to her before she set her hand on Maxwell's leg and brushed it as she stood up.

Maxwell sat up straighter as she passed by him, peering back at her as she walked away and started heading upstairs. He sucked at his bottom lip as he watched her climb the stairs, wondering if she meant anything by that simple touch. "I, ah, I got an early morning tomorrow so I'm gonna head up as well." He said, turning back and getting up off the couch.

"All you can think about is getting into bed too?" Niles asked, smirking up at him.

"Yeah, something like that." Maxwell said, giving his youngest a kiss on the head and saying goodnight to everyone before making his own way upstairs.

Once he was upstairs he went over to Fran's bedroom door, his hand lingering over the knob as he tried to decide if he should go inside or not. Like Brighton said, who was he kidding, of course he had to go inside. He exhaled as he caved and opened her door slowly, looking around the room. She was nowhere in sight so he took a step into the room.

"Miss Fine." He whispered, loud enough that if she was in the room somewhere she should be able to hear him.

Fran walked out of her closet, already dressed in her pajamas. "Mister Sheffield." She said, smiling over at him.

Maxwell looked her over, his eyes wandering to the light blue lace nightie she was wearing. The last few weeks she had been dressing much more conservatively, likely for his sake, but now he could enjoy the more revealing look that he often preferred as long as it was only in his sight. He smiled back up at her as his hand reached back and closed her door, clicking the lock.

"Mister Sheffield, don't you have a rule about this?" Fran asked, taking a couple steps closer to the center of the room as he did the same.

"A rule?" He asked, taking another step.

"Yes, don't you remember?" She asked, continuing to take a step forward. "No boys allowed in my room."

"Ah, that rule." He said, taking another step closer. "I'm the master of the house, so I am the exception."

"How awfully convenient for you." She said, taking one more step and only a small gap was left between them.

"It really is." He said as he took a final step in front of her, leaving no space between them as their bodies met.

"Mister Sheffield, isn't this becoming one of those temptations that we agreed to avoid?" She asked, their eyes locked on each other.

"Yeah, it's seeming more and more like it." He said, reaching up and running his hands down her upper arms.

Fran let her eyes shudder closed, savoring the touch that she had been yearning for. "But we did say that last time would be the last time."

"We did say that." Maxwell said, closing his own eyes and resting his head on her forehead.

"So?" She said, secretly hoping he would say screw their agreement and take her right now.

"So," He said, lifting his head off of her as they both opened their eyes again. "So, I guess I should just be getting along then."

"Yeah, that's probably best." She said, trying to hide her disappointment.

"Or-" He started, catching her off guard.

"Or?" She asked, hopefully.

Maxwell didn't bother with another word, gripping her arms tightly as he pulled her into a kiss. After a few moments he let her break free from his grasp, wrapping his arms around her body as she ran a hand on his back and another through his hair. Fran pecked his lips a few more times then started to travel down his face, kissing along his chin and to his neck. She sucked lightly on his Adam's Apple and he let his head fall back to give her better access, his mouth opening with pleasure.

"Miss Fine, this is the only thing I've been able to think of doing since we made that ridiculous agreement."

"Me too." She said, running her hands down to the bottom of his shirt as she kept kissing his neck. "Well, there is actually one other thing that I've been thinking about."

"What's that?" He asked as she lifted up his shirt and pulled it over his head, tossing it off onto the end of her bed.

"I wanna do a little reenactment." She said, leaning in and kissing his chest a couple times

"A reenactment?"

"Yeah, wait right here." She said, giving him another peck on the lips before starting to walk off.

"Wait, where are you going?" He asked, looking back at her like a lost little puppy.

"I'm getting the baby oil." She stated, making him raise an eyebrow. "And I'm sure there is a puka shell necklace somewhere around here.

Maxwell finally caught onto her joke, grabbing her wrist and pulling her back toward him. "All right, that's enough." He said, leaning down and lifting her up onto his shoulder.

"Mister Sheffield, put me down!" Fran said with a laugh as he walked them towards the bed.

"Gladly." He said as he dropped her down onto her bed, climbing over her and resting his hands beside her to prop himself up while she kept giggling. "You think you're so hilarious, don't you?"

"Well, I'm amused." She said with a shrug.

"You're incorrigible."

"And yet here you are in bed with me."

"I never said I didn't like it." Maxwell said in a low tone, leaning down and catching her lips.

Later that evening they laid in each other's arms, their bodies finally cooling down from their recent activity. Neither of them had said a word, they just enjoyed the feeling of their bare skin resting on one another. Maxwell lifted his arm up, checking the time on his watch.

"Do you got somewhere better to be?" Fran joked, tilting her head to look at him.

"No, no place better than here." He said, squeezing her tight in his arms.

"Then why is that like the third time you've looked at your watch?"

"Can I give you the honest answer?"

"Of course." She said, hiding her sudden worry.

"I'm starving." He admitted, making her chuckle at the unexpected reason.

"Well, here's a crazy idea, get something to eat."

"It's not late enough yet and the kids are probably still down in the living room watching television. It might seem a little strange if I wander down there looking for food when I told them I went to bed hours ago."

"Hours ago? Now I know you've got some damn good stamina, but let's not get too carried away." She said, running her hand across his chin.

"You know what I mean."

"Okay, hold on." Fran said as she sat up and grabbed his shirt off the end of the bed, throwing it on quickly before getting up.

"What are you doing?"

"Saving you from starvation."

"You can't go down there either, they think you went to bed too."

"First of all, no one would be the least bit surprised if I snuck to the kitchen for some late night snacking-"

Maxwell cut in. "Even while you are half starkers and wearing my shirt?"

"Will you let me finish?"

"I thought I already did that, twice." He said with a smirk.

"Mister Sheffield, you are not the proper British boy you make people believe you to be." Fran said with a grin, getting an amused shrug back from him. "As I was saying, second of all, I'm not going downstairs." She explained, walking over to her dresser and pulling out a couple of candy bars. "Ta-da!"

"You keep candy in your dresser drawer?" Maxwell asked, squinting his eyes at her.

"Did we just meet?" She asked, walking over and climbing back into bed with him. She held out both of them, letting him pick which one he wanted. He pointed to one of them and she wondered if he picked that one because he knew the other was her favorite as she handed it over to him.

"Thank you." He said, opening it up and taking a bite while she did the same with hers. "So, what else do you have hidden throughout this room?"

"Don't I have a right to a little privacy?"

"I think we might have passed the point of having any privacy between us."

"That's probably true." She said, smirking as she ripped off a piece of her candy and popped it into her mouth. "Okay, well y'know those little snack size Doritos you have me buy for the kids?"

"Yeah?"

"I lie and tell the kids that they come with less than they actually do and I hide the others in my amore."

"So not only are you a snack hoarder, you are also a thief."

"They kept fighting because the boxes weren't even. I was just doing them a favor!"

"Ah, ha."

"And if I need something to wash it down with, the leftover fruit punch pouches are in a container under the bed." She said, the both of them laughing as they finished up their candy then she took their wrappers and tossed them in her trash bin.

"Wow, you think you really know a person till you start to learn all their dirty little secrets."

"Hey, if you want to know some more of my dirtier secrets, there is more where that came from."

"I think I'd enjoyed that." He said, smirking over at her as she reached up and covered her yawn. "But maybe another time, it looks like you could use a sleep."

"I can't go to sleep yet. You can't leave till we know the kids are in bed."

"I'll be fine. I can just sneak out on my own once I know the coast is clear."

"Won't it be pretty boring for you, laying in here in complete silence with nothing to do?"

"I don't think any time spent with you could be boring, even if you are just sleeping."

"If you really don't mind."

"I insist. Now, lay down." He said, scooting down in the bed and patting for her to lay down next to him.

"Okay." Fran said, laying down and snuggling up next to him. She felt his hand go to her hair, smiling to herself when he started to softly stroke it. "Night, Mister Sheffield."

"Goodnight, Miss Fine." Maxwell said, placing a light kiss on her forehead before she closed her eyes and started to drift off to sleep. He turned his head to look her over, all her facial features calm and she was already in a deep slumber. It was hard to believe that she could look even more beautiful asleep than she did while she was awake. Maybe it was just because he had the chance to really look at her, not having to worry about getting caught for checking her out. He stilled his hand then moved it away from her hair, clicking off the light on her nightstand before setting it on her arm and resting his own eyes.

That was the last thought he had till a hint of the rising sun peeked through the curtains and woke him up. He squinted his eyes open, glancing over at Fran who was now facing away from him with her head still resting on his arm. He carefully slid his arm from underneath her and looked at his watch, seeing it was a little before six.

"Miss Fine." Maxwell whispered as he set a hand on her hip and he leaned forward, laying against her backside. "Miss Fine, I gotta get back to my room before the kids wake up."

"Mhm, okay." She mumbled.

"There's just one thing, I'm gonna need my shirt back. You're still wearing it."

"Take it back then."

"If I do that I'm not gonna want to leave this room."

"Okay." She said, not paying any attention to what he was saying as she drifted back to sleep.

"Miss Fine." Maxwell said, getting no response. He shook his head, taking the hint that he wasn't going to get it back anytime soon. "See you later, Miss Fine." He said quietly, leaning down and kissing her on the cheek before he got up and gathered his briefs and pants. He got dressed quickly then headed over to the door, quietly unlocking it and peeking his head out to check that no one was around. With no one in sight he stepped out in the hallway, hurrying down to his bedroom door. He was just about clear when he heard a door open near him and footsteps on the wood floors. He pinched his eyes shut a moment then opened them back up, looking down the hall.

"Morning, sir." Niles said. "You weren't kidding about having an early morning today."

"Oh, ah, I'm not up yet, I just heard a noise and I went to check it out, but it was nothing."

"You we're still sleeping?"

"Yeah."

"In your slacks?" He asked, looking down at his attire.

"They, ah, they're new. I just wanted to wear them in."

"Ah, good idea." Niles said, smirking to himself. "Well, I'll let you get back to sleep. You still look pretty exhausted."

Chapter Text

Maxwell was no stranger to being tense every time he started up a new musical. The general worry about if the latest production he had chosen would be a success or turn into a flop was just the beginning of it. After that he had to start the elongated process of auditions, chemistry reads and casting to make sure they had the best actors for the job before they could even begin to get an idea if the project was worth all the hassle.

They were currently stuck in one of the earlier steps, the much dreaded chemistry reads. It was New York, it didn't take much effort to find a good theater actor, but finding two actors who could play off of each other so perfectly that people could believe whatever relationship they had together was real was a whole other story.

Maxwell winced as he watched the sad attempt at a romantic scene on the theater stage between what they had thought would be the final contenders for the lead actor and actress, though now he was seriously reconsidering that thought. They fumbled on another one of their lines and he exhaled, rubbing his forehead in exasperation.

"Is it wrong that I'm a little offended that they can make you this frustrated too?" A voice from behind him said.

Maxwell smiled to himself, picking that voice out of anywhere. He glanced back, looking at Fran who was leaning in toward him from the seat in the row back. "If it helps you feel any better, you still frustrate me far more than any other person can."

"Yeah, that does make me feel better." Fran said, smirking over at him.

"What are you doing here?" Maxwell asked. He gladly welcomed the distraction, especially from her. He'd been so busy getting the play started up that he had hardly even seen her since the night they spent together in her bedroom. He wondered if that had something to do with the added tension he had been feeling as well.

"Well, I was on my way to pick up snacks for the PTA meeting we're hosting at the house and you never left me a credit card."

"I left a card for you on the kitchen counter."

"Yeah, I'm just not sure the supermarket is going to accept 'Vasa'." She said, holding up the thick plastic card with a paper design glued to it.

Maxwell grabbed it from her, looking it over. "Gracie must have been playing with my wallet again. I was in such a hurry I didn't even look at what I pulled out."

"What luck, you're not paying attention and I wind up with the only card in your wallet with a zero dollar limit." Fran joked, making him shake his head as he grabbed in his wallet and pulled out another card.

"Here you go." He said, handing it back to her.

"Thank you." She said, putting it into her bag as she looked around. "Where's C.C.?"

"She said she was going out for a cigarette."

"When did she start smoking again?"

"I'm not certain she did. She's been gone for about half an hour, so she might have just said that to get out of here."

Fran took a moment to watch the actors on stage, furrowing her brow. "Can't say I blame her. They're awful."

"Hence the frustration."

"Are they side characters or something?"

"No, they are auditioning for the leading couple."

"Lead couple? They look like two middle schoolers on their first date."

Maxwell looked over at the both of them standing a good couple of feet from each other as they read their lines, the comparison fitting. "All right, that's it." He said as he tossed his script down on the seat beside him and stood up, walking toward the stage. "Can either of you tell me what you are doing wrong in this scene?"

"I'm not sure what you mean." The actress said.

"This is supposed to be a love scene. Why are you both standing so far apart?"

"We still have a few more lines before we even kiss." The actor defended.

"And?" Maxwell asked, raising his eyebrows. "You don't think a couple who is about to kiss is going to have their hands on each other? You can't just stand there like guards at Buckingham Palace. You need build up leading into the kiss." He explained, looking over to the actor. "Here, run back a couple lines and start again. But this time, when you get to the line about how you don't care if you get caught, put your hands on her sides and pull her closer to you."

They both looked back down at their scripts and the actress started off the dialogue. "What are you doing here?"

"I know that I'm not supposed to be here, but after I saw you at the gala, I couldn't help it. I needed to see you alone."

"No, you can't be here. If my father finds out you are in here he will have you killed."

"I don't care." The actor said as he took a step forward, nervously setting his hands on her sides.

"No, that's all wrong!" Maxwell called out, stopping them. "You are lovers, you shouldn't look so afraid to touch each other."

"I'm just not sure where to put my hands."

"Do you think two people who are sharing a passionate moment worry about where they are setting their hands?"

"Well, no, but we aren't really sharing that moment."

"Yes, you are. In order to portray these characters properly, you have to become your characters." Maxwell expressed as he walked up onto the stage with them. "You aren't just two people who work together, you are two people who are enamored with each other. Every touch needs to be personal. It needs to have meaning!" He said, neither of them looking like they were catching on to the idea of it. "Here, I'll show you." He told them, looking off stage to Fran. "Miss Fine, come here for a second."

"Yes, sir." Fran said as she got up and started walking toward the stage. She secretly loved this bossy side of him when he was in his producer mode. The only time she had seen it was when he directed Gracie's play, it was far more appealing when it wasn't aimed at a group of elementary students.

Maxwell walked over to the end of the stage and reached out to her, taking her hand into his to help her up the stairs. He walked her over to center stage as the actors moved off to the side to watch, letting go of her once he had her in place. "Okay, so you are well established society woman from a very wealthy, powerful family and I'm the out of place drifter who tried to con my way into your families circle."

"Are you sure we shouldn't switch parts?" Fran joked.

"No, this is how the parts are played."

"Okay, a little role reversal then."

"While I was working my con against your family we started to develop strong feelings for each other, but when your father found out what I was up to he banned me from ever seeing you."

"That shouldn't be too hard to play, I'll just remember the time my dad banned me from seeing a guy."

"Morty actually banned you from seeing someone?"

"He was a Nets fan."

"Ahh." He said, nodding his head. "All right, can you lead me in with the line about the father catching them."

"Shouldn't I have a script?"

"You don't need a script."

"But what if I get my line wrong?"

"It's not really your line."

"Aren't you the one who just said to become the character?"

"Yes, but that was a note for the actors, not for you. Just forget that for now, you don't have to be the character."

"No wonder they are having so much trouble if you are this indecisive with them."

Maxwell took a deep breath, getting ready to say something when she smirked at him. "You're just screwing with me now, aren't you?"

"Took you long enough to catch on."

"Yeah, well, I'll try to catch on quicker later when I have you help me rehearse the scene where the father tries to behead the drifter." He teased back. "You ready?"

"Yeah, ready." Fran said, standing more proper to get in character before she looked over at him and spoke. "If my father finds you here he is going to kill you."

"I don't care." Maxwell said as he took a quick step forward and grabbed her by the waist, pulling her body against his. "I don't care if he or anyone else finds me here. Death is not a painful thought. Pain is not being near you, not seeing your beautiful face next to me when I wake up in the morning." He reached a hand up and caressed her cheek, causing her eyes to drift shut for a moment. "Pain is not being able to touch you, not being able to hold you." His hand ran to the back of her neck, staring into her eyes deeply as he spoke again. "Or to kiss you." He whispered, leaning in slowly and placing a feather light kiss on her lips. "There is no pain greater than not being with you like this."

Fran felt him start to pull away and reached her hands up to his face, pulling him back into a much heavier kiss. He was caught off guard but gladly reciprocated, hugging her tighter in his arms. They finally pulled back a little, sharing a gaze till the clapping from beside them snapped them out of it and they both let go of each other and took a step back.

"Okay, I think I get it now." The actor said. "We will try to make it more like that."

Maxwell cleared his throat, wiping his lips before he spoke. "Okay, yes, that would be good." He said, looking back to Fran.

"Well, I should get going. I gotta get that shopping done before the kids get home from school." Fran said.

"Right." He said with a nod. "I'll see you at home."

"See you at home." She said, smiling at him before she walked off the stage and headed down the aisle.

The actress walked over toward Maxwell, smiling as she saw him watching her. "You two look like a great couple."

"Oh, we're not a couple." Maxwell said, looking over at her. "She's my kids' nanny."

"Oh, wow." The actress said, visibly surprised. "Y'know, if you hadn't become a producer, you could have easily made it as an actor. That felt so real. I thought for a second you were really in love with each other." She said, walking off to go read lines with the actor again.

Maxwell looked back at Fran, seeing her wave as she reached the doors. He gave her a small wave back, smiling at her as she left the theater. He dropped his hand back to his side, blowing out a breath of air as he walked back off stage to his seat.

Later that night Fran had just gotten all the kids off to bed. She had to resort to reading one more chapter than planned when Gracie insisted she would finally go to sleep if she did, which might have been fine normally, but she neglected to check just how long the next chapter was before they started and it was pushing eleven before they were finished. She was disappointed to say the least. Not that she didn't love spending time with her favorite little girl, but after the thoughts she had been having today she had hoped for another end to her evening.

Ever since she had left the theater all she could think about was Mister Sheffield. The way he talked to her so passionately, how he grabbed onto her and held her close to him and most of all that kiss. It was all pretend, she knew that, though she couldn't help but think back to their real moments together over the last couple months. They had their foggy first night together, their tension high hook up in his office and the night in her bedroom when they finally gave in and stopped fighting their feelings for each other. It was safe to say they weren't going to stop there, at least she hoped they weren't. She wasn't ready to give what they were doing up yet and after that moment today she fully believed he would agree.

Unfortunately, tonight was unlikely to be the night to continue their new hobby. She hadn't seen him all day since their little act together, but she figured he stuck in sometime while she was reading and was probably fast asleep in his bed by now.

Fran snuck out of Gracie's bedroom, quietly shutting the door behind her before walking down the hall. She stopped when she reached Maxwell's bedroom door, sighing to herself. Would it really hurt to check if he was awake or not? Sure, he was rarely awake this late during a work week, but maybe she would get lucky, in more ways than one.

She didn't just want to go in there empty handed though. If he was asleep and she happened to wake him, she didn't want him to know the real reason she was in there and feel obligated to wake up just to satisfy her desires, he did need his sleep for work after all. A thought popped into her mind and she took a quick detour to her room, grabbing the credit card he gave her out of her purse and heading back over to his bedroom. She went to reach for the door handle when it opened on its own, causing her to jump.

"Miss Fine." Niles said as she backed away, closing the door behind him. "Are you looking for Mister Sheffield?"

Fran looked at him, her eyes widened. "Uhm, yeah, I was just checking if he was still awake because I was going to return his credit card to him." She said as she held it up to show proof, relieved she had thought to grab it before trying to sneak in.

"You didn't just want to return it to him in the morning?"

"Well, I wasn't sure how early he would be heading out tomorrow, He's so busy with his new play, I feel like we never see him anymore."

"I see how that might be difficult for the two of you."

"You do?"

"Yes, as the nanny you have things to discuss with him." Niles said, smirking as he over pronounced 'discuss'.

"Yeah, well, now that I think of it, he is probably asleep by now, so I can just set it on the counter or something."

"That will probably be quite all right, it is what you normally do after all."

"I do normally do that, but we had a whole mishap today and I had to make a trip to the theater to exchange the card he left me for one that could purchase something other than plastic fruit from Gracie's supermarket. Figured it might be better not to leave around the real card where she could get ahold of it."

"Well, if you'd like, I can give it to him when he comes home."

"He's not home yet?" Fran asked, surprised as she handed the card over to him.

"No, he got caught up with their casting and he's on his way home now. Should be here any minute."

"Any minute, huh?" She said, a sense of hope coming back to her.

"Yes. Though he is in a very terrible mood, so I got the jacuzzi ready for him so he can wind down. It might be best for you to avoid him unless you can think of anything that might cheer him up."

"Thank you for the warning, I'll steer clear of him tonight." Fran said, nodding as she looked back toward her bedroom. "Well, night then."

"Goodnight, Miss Fine." Niles said, walking off as she did the same. After he got around the corner he waited a few moments, peeking back around to see Fran heading back to Maxwell's bedroom and sneaking in quickly. He smiled to himself, turning back and heading downstairs.

Maxwell flew in the front door, clearly in a mood as he closed it behind him harder than usual. "I give up. I'm just gonna hire that street performer off Fifth Avenue, he could do a better job than the actors that read for us today."

"Surely they couldn't have all been that bad, sir." Niles said as he helped him get his coat off, hanging it in the closet afterward.

"I've seen cousins with more chemistry than most of them."

"Well, if you start hiring from the south maybe you can find a pair to cast."

"That was the most painful day I've ever experienced at the theater and nothing even came out of it." Maxwell said then he thought to himself that one good thing did actually come out of it, his rehearsal with Miss Fine.

"I knew you weren't in a great mood, so I went ahead and drew a bath in the jacuzzi and I set out a snifter of brandy for you."

"Thank you, ol' man, but I'm not sure anything is gonna improve my mood tonight."

"You never know, you might end up feeling a lot better very soon."

"Doubtful." Maxwell said, saying a quick goodnight before heading upstairs and into his room. He took off his watch and pulled out his wallet, setting them on the dresser before he started to get undressed. He lazily slid his suit off and undid his tie, throwing them off on the chair as he started walking toward the bathroom while unbuttoning his dress shirt. When he got to the partially open bathroom door he heard the sound of soft music and noticed the flickering of candlelight from inside. He wondered how cranky he sounded on the phone with Niles before he left the theater to have him go to such lengths. He pushed the door open and walked inside, halting to a stop when he looked over to the bathtub and saw Fran engulfed in bubbles.

"Welcome home." Fran said, smiling over at him.

"Miss Fine, what are you doing in here?" He said, smirking over at her as he leaned against the door frame.

"Niles told me what a lousy day you were having, I thought I'd see if I couldn't help you destress a little." She said, picking up a handful of bubbles and blowing them toward him.

Maxwell raised an eyebrow, pushing his shirt off his shoulders and tossing it to the floor as he closed the bathroom door behind him and locked it. He walked over to the tub as he undid his belt and pants, dropping them to the floor before stepping into the tub and sitting down beside her. "Hi." He said, causally as he rested his arm behind her.

"Hi." Fran said back, setting her hand on his chin and giving him a quick kiss. She wiped away the bubbles she had gotten on his cheek as he turned back and grabbed his glass of liquor with his free hand and took a swig.

"You want some?" He asked, holding it out to her.

"I'm good." She said, watching as he took one more sip before setting it back on the tray.

"I take it the candles and music were your touch?"

"What, Niles never sets the mood for you like this?" She joked.

"No, we're men."

"You're acting awfully macho for a guy whose butler puts raspberry scented bubbles in his bath."

"Raspberry? I told him to get strawberry this time." He said as he picked up some bubbles and sniffed them, shaking his head and making her chuckle.

"Well, no matter the scent, this sure is a relaxing way to end a day."

"I agree. I didn't think anything was going to revive this dreadful day, but I was dead wrong." He said, moving his hand to her arm and rubbing it gently.

"So, I take it the chemistry reads didn't get any better after I left?"

"They got worse, if you can believe it."

"I didn't know that was even possible, but judging by how exhausted you look I believe it." She said, reaching a hand up and playing with the ends of his hair.

"I am definitely starting to feel better now."

"The raspberry bubbles are working for you then?"

"I don't think it's only the bath that is working for me at the moment." He said, gazing over at her.

"Let me see if I can help even more. Scoot forward some." She told him, gesturing for him to move.

"Okay." He said, pulling his arm from behind her and moving forward in the tub. "You're not going to try to drown me are you? Because I'm not in that bad of a mood."

"No, I'm not drowning you." She said with a laugh, climbing in the small space behind him and setting a leg on either side of him.

"Aren't I facing the wrong way to take part in some distressing activities?"

"Mister Sheffield, get your mind out of the gutter." Fran said, splashing him lightly. "Lay back." She told him, setting her hands on his arms and laying him back onto her.

"Wow, that is pretty comfortable." Maxwell said, closing his eyes as he rested his head backwards on her shoulder. "You make a great pillow."

"Yeah?"

"Well, a little lumpy." He said, wiggling his shoulders to get a better feeling of her chest on his back.

"You don't seem to mind the lumps any other time."

"I didn't say I mind them now." He said, turning his head to face her. "How do you look even more beautiful in candle light?"

"It is some of my best lighting." Fran said, grinning as she leaned in and kissed him slowly. She felt his hand go up to her face, pulling her in closer as he added more pressure to their kiss. "Hey." She said, pecking him once more before she pulled back some. "You are supposed to be relaxing."

"Believe me, I am relaxed." He said, getting ready to go in again.

"Uh-ah." She said, stopping him. "Lay your head back down and let me help you calm those nerves."

"If you insist." He said with an exhale, turning his head away and laying back on her.

Fran set her hands on his biceps and started to massage them, causing him to make a low humming noise. "Is this relaxing?" She whispered in his ear.

"Mhmm." He said, blissfully.

"How about this?" She asked, sliding her hand around him and rubbing his chest.

"Even better."

"Good." Fran said, slowly running her hands down his stomach. "And this?" She asked as she lowered one of them to his groin and took him into her hand, stroking him slowly.

Maxwell's eyes shot back open, his mouth gaping open in pleasure. "Oh, yes, that is definitely more relaxing." He said, his voice shaky. Her hands drove him crazy when she was only touching his back or his hair, he never even considered what it would do to him when she was touching his most sensitive area. He pressed his head back harder onto her, breathing out a sharp intake of air. He let himself enjoy the feeling a while longer till she started going too fast. "Miss Fine, stop." He said, reaching for her hand.

"What, are you not enjoying it anymore?"

"No, in fact I was starting to enjoy it too much."

"Isn't that the point?"

"I'd much rather we both get some enjoyment." Maxwell said, grabbing both her legs and wrapping them around his abdomen. He reached back and hooked his arm around her side, swinging her around with one swift motion till she was sitting face to face with him in his lap. He wasted no time, taking himself into his hand and sliding into her with ease. "There, that's even better." He said, leaning in and kissing her eagerly as he started pumping upward. After the a few minutes of the same pace his hand went into the back of her hair, pulling on it to get her head to tilt back before he started kissing down her neck.

Fran moaned out as he did so, finding his roughness even more arousing. She didn't know how he continued to surprise her each time they were together. If she told herself a couple months back that the repressed man who got flustered with her at the mere mention of anything sex related would be one by one fulfilling her fantasies she would have laughed in her own face.

She rested her forearms on his shoulders and reached to his hair, mimicking his move by gripping it and pulling his head back. She smiled devilishly at him and he did the same back to her. She leaned in and landed her lips onto his again, slipping her tongue into his mouth and savoring the taste of his brandy.

Maxwell slid his hands down her back, grabbing onto her hips and pulling her up and down onto him. He watched her as she moved away from his lips, leaning her forehead onto his as she started losing control of all her faculties. He knew she was close and he took the opportunity to speed things up even more, propping his legs up behind and thrusting himself into her faster.

Fran moved her head away from his, laying it onto her arm that was still wrapped around his upper body. She pressed her mouth onto her own skin, using it as a sound buffer for the moans that were escaping her body as her orgasm hit. She felt him tuck his face into the crevice of her neck, kissing it sloppily a few times before he started panting onto her as he began slowing down their movements gradually till they were stilled.

Maxwell pulled his face away from her neck and laid his head on the tub and Fran laid her head down onto his shoulder, both of them trying to get back the air into their lungs. When they finally could breathe evenly again he watched her lift her head off him, looking into each other's eyes as he remained relaxed against the jacuzzi wall. He reached a hand up and set it on the back of her head, gently guiding her to his lips. They kissed softly, neither of them having the energy to move their mouths any faster at the moment. He moved back a little then placed a couple more pecks on her lips before they opened their eyes back up.

"So, would you say your bad day is going better now?" Fran asked, smiling lightly as she traced a finger along his chin.

"Right now I can't even recall what was so bad about it." Maxwell said, the both of them smiling at one another. "I suppose we should do some actual bathing, it must be pretty late by now."

"Yeah, good idea." Fran said, setting her hands onto his shoulders as he sat up more. He moved forward and unwrapped her legs from his body, helping her climb out of his lap and move over beside him.

Maxwell reached onto the side of the tub and grabbed a bottle of two in one shampoo, showing it to her. "This okay for you? It's all I have in here."

"It has been okay all the other times I have stolen it, so it shouldn't be a problem now." Fran said, smirking as he shook his head.

"Here." He said, popping open the bottle and squeezing a good amount into her open hand.

"Thank you." Fran said back, rubbing it into her hair as he took out some for himself and started doing the same.

It didn't take him long to get his all soaped up then he reached up and grabbed the shower head from the wall, turning on the water and holding his other hand in it while he waited for it to heat up.

"I didn't realize that thing was detachable, I would have suggested bringing it down here earlier." She said, winking over at him.

"Now we can just use it to cool you down." Maxwell said, tilting it toward her and giving her a quick spritz. He turned his head as she splashed some water back at him, smirking back at her before he started rinsing his hair with the sprayer. While he did so he looked over at her, admiring her as she continued to lather up her hair.

"After all that, you still have the urge to check me out?" She asked, having noticed him watching her.

Maxwell smiled, turning off the water and setting the shower head off to the side of the tub. "I don't think anything would get rid of that urge." He joked, slicking back his wet hair before he reached over and started playing with the ends of her hair. "I was just thinking how different you look when your hair isn't all puffed up."

"You don't like my puff?" She said, a little sad.

"No, I like your puff." He reassured. "I'm just enjoying getting to see all these different sides of you."

"Oh, yeah, you're getting to enjoy quite a few sides of me you've never seen before."

"Yes, I am." He said with a smirk.

"I'm enjoying seeing new sides of you too."

"Well, after that little run-in in the guest bathroom last year, I don't think there was a whole lot of me left for surprise."

"That's not true."

"Really? Because it seemed like you took a pretty good look."

"Yes, I did." She said with a smirk. "But I mean you still surprise me."

"Really?"

"Yeah, all the time. I guess I sort of assumed given your whole smooth sophisticated demeanor that you would be a lot more mellow when it came to, well, y'know, the stuff we've been doing, which would have been fine too, but you continue to catch me off guard."

"If I'm being honest, I normally was a lot calmer. I don't know if it's because it's been so long or if you just bring that side out of me."

"Maybe a little of both." Fran said, dropping her hands from her hair.

"Are you ready for a rinse?"

"Yes."

"Come sit in front of me, I'll do it." Maxwell said, propping up his legs to make room for her. He waited till she got in front of her then put them back down on each side of her. He reached for the shower head again, turning on the water and getting the temperature right before he started to rinse out her shampoo. He was sure she was doing a good enough job as she ran her hands around through her hair, but he still took the chance to use his free hand to help. Once he felt they had gotten all of it out he turned it back off and hooked it on the wall again.

"Thank you for helping me rinse out my hair."

"Anytime." He said, leaning forward to rest his chin on her shoulder and closing his eyes.

"You tired?" She said, looking off to the side at him.

"No, actually, just relaxed."

"Ah, then my mission was a success."

"Absolutely." He said, nuzzling her a moment before opening his eyes back up. "Ready to get out?"

"Yeah, probably a good idea before I start to get too wrinkly." She said, glancing outside of the tub. "How do you suppose we go about getting Niles to clean up the bathroom floor without telling him why it's flooded?"

Maxwell took his head off her and looked, his eyebrows raising. "Oh, wow, I noticed the water level went down a bit but I figured we just bumped the drain. I'll take care of it." He said, setting his hands on the sides of the tub and pushing himself up out of the water. He reached over and grabbed a towel, wrapping it around his waist as he stepped carefully out of the tub.

"Don't fall, we don't want anyone hearing it and trying to bust in here right now."

"That's the only reason I should try not to fall?" He asked as he took a few slow steps over to the cabinet, bending down to grab out more towels from the drawer.

"I guess I wouldn't want that cute tush to get injured either." She said, smirking as he turned back around to see her eying him.

"Now who's the one checking who out?" He said, laying the towels down in a line to walk across.

"Can't blame a girl when you spend most of the time hiding it in slacks."

"Well, it's my turn again. Stand up." Maxwell said, holding his free hand out to her. Once he had a hold of her he helped her up out of the water, moving back so she could take a step out of the tub. He waited till she was all the way out then he put his arms over her and opened up the towel in his hands behind her back, wrapping it around her whole body and tucking it into place.

"Y'know, I probably should have thought this through better. I didn't bring any clean clothes with me. It's one thing to make an excuse for sneaking out of your bedroom in the middle of the night, but sneaking out in a towel and wet hair is gonna be a challenge."

"You're welcome to sleep in here. We can set an alarm so you can sneak out before anyone is awake, you should be dry by then."

"Are you sure you're not just offering because that means I'll be laying naked in your bed all night?"

Maxwell set his hands on her sides, pinching at the cotton material on her towel. "As appealing as that sounds, I was planning to offer you a change of my clothes to sleep in."

"I think I'll take you up on that 'cause I am getting a bit chilly."

"All right, you go get changed and I'll get the rest of this cleaned up." He said, kissing her on her bare shoulder before letting go of her.

Fran followed the towel bridge to the door and headed out of the bathroom, walking over to his bedroom door first to lock it. She walked back over to his dresser opening up the drawers to look for something she'd like. She smiled when she saw his black henley laying right on top, freshly clean. She pulled it out and closed the drawer, going into the one under it and pulling out a random pair of black briefs and some clothes for him to put on. She went over to his bed and set them down on it while she dried her body, dabbing her hair with it before she set it on the ottoman and got dressed.

"I just got that shirt back after you stole it last time." Maxwell said, getting her attention as he walked into the bedroom.

"I can't help it, the fabric is so soft." She said, rubbing the collar of it against her face.

"If you like it that much, it's yours."

"No, I don't want to take it from you. It's one of my favorites to see on you."

"It's no problem, I have a few others just like it."

"Okay." Fran said, smiling to herself. "I ah, took out some clothes for you too." She said, gesturing to them on the bed.

"Thank you." He said as he walked over and glanced at them as he started drying off. "You didn't grab me a shirt."

"Oh, did I forget that?" She said, smirking as she looked him over. "Must have slipped my mind."

"Ah, ha, as long as it wasn't intentional." He joked back as he tossed his towel next to hers then slipped on his briefs. "Are you getting tired yet?"

"No, I feel like I have all this energy now."

"Yeah, me too." He said as he finished pulling up his pajama pants.

"Well, since neither of us are tired." Fran said, stepping in front of him. "What do you say to a little more tension relieving activities?" She asked, running her hands on his bare chest.

"Are you thinking like yoga or some type of meditation?" He teased.

"No, I was thinking something more along the lines of this." She said, setting a hand on the back of his neck and pulling him down into a kiss.

Maxwell pulled back a little, resting his head on her forehead. "Hmm, I'm feeling calmer already." He said then he reached down to her thighs and lifted her up into his arm, kissing her again as he walked them toward the bed and laid her down underneath him.

Chapter Text

Maxwell had never thought too hard about any compliments he received. He was a handsome, wealthy and famous Broadway producer after all, getting praised was nothing new to him. Though there was something about a commendation from a certain Jewish brunette with a thick New York accent that got the wheels in his head turning.

Recently she had admitted to him that he surprised her. He, Maxwell Sheffield, surprised her, Fran Fine. He didn't think there was anything in the world that could surprise her, especially anything he did. She was the most unphased person he had ever met, nothing seemed to throw her off. But somehow, he had managed to do just that.

At first he really enjoyed knowing that was something he accomplished, but the more he thought about it the last few weeks, the more nervous it made him. He didn't think he was ever bad in bed, he certainly hadn't heard any complaints, but she wasn't wrong about her prior assumptions of him. When it came to sex in the past, he was more reserved and tended to stick to the basics.

He assumed his repressed nature stemmed all the way back to how he had been brought up. Growing up there was never any talk of intimacy in his household. Had he not heard about sex from the kids at boarding school, he might have spent his teen years truly believing that the stork brought babies. There wasn't only no mention of it, he had never even witnessed his parents hold hands or kiss. Any attempt his father would make his mother would brush off, stating that it was improper in front of other people.

Luckily, he wasn't quite that bad. He tended to avoid personal topics in the presence of other people, but he was never too uptight to hold or kiss a woman with others around. Still, their similarities did worry him even more. If he was like his mother in a way, maybe she would get bored with him just as his father did.

Not that she was anything like his father, but she was more experienced and definitely more exotic. That just wasn't him. He was never very adventurous and wasn't one for changing things up. He got the feeling that she was no stranger to a variety of escapades, even Niles had once pointed out to him that she was likely far beyond him when it came to sex.

They could no longer count on two hands the number of times they had been together now, sneaking into each other's bedrooms a few times a week had just become a regular occurrence. It was always great sex if he had anything to say about it. Very, very great sex. His only hope was that she felt the same way he did about their time together. Whilst he did find himself with a newfound feral essence when he was with her, he did wonder if he was ever going to be exciting enough for her.

"Sir, do you have a moment?" Niles asked, walking into Maxwell's office.

Maxwell looked over at him, pulling him out of his thoughts. "Yes, ol' boy, what is it?"

"I was cleaning up Master Brighton's bedroom and I found a magazine I thought you would like to know about." He said, walking over beside his desk with it in hand.

"What is it, another Playboy?" Maxwell asked, taking the magazine from him and reading it. "Cosmopolitan." He said, confused.

"He has the at-home bikini wax page dog-eared. Though I imagine he wasn't looking for tips to make his skin silky smooth."

Maxwell flipped to the page, looking it over. "No, probably not." He said, the both of them tilting their heads as they took a better look. They shared a glance then he closed it back up, setting it on his desk. "Thank you for letting me know, I'll have a talk with him later."

"Very good." Niles said, starting to walk away as Maxwell noticed something on the cover of the magazine that sparked his interest.

"Niles." He said, stopping him.

"Yes, sir?"

"Do you think a guy like me can be satisfactorily, you know, in the long run?"

"How do you mean?" Niles asked, walking back over near him.

"Well, I mean, because I don't necessarily do the unexpected, do you think I can continue to please someone? Or might it be wise to try to change things up a bit?"

"Well, you could give me an extra day off every once in a while."

"I'm not talking about with you." He said, blatantly.

"Who do you mean then?"

Maxwell glanced back at the magazine, shaking his head. "Never mind, forget I brought it up." He said, Niles looking down and reading the sentence his eyes seemed fixed on.

"You mean with a woman?" Niles asked, Maxwell looking back up at him with a nervous stare. "Are you considering dating again and you aren't sure if you are up to the task?" He said, giving him a fake story so he wasn't worried about letting his secret out as they discussed it.

"I have been having some thoughts recently about being with someone again." He said, casually.

"And you are worried you might be a little out of practice?"

"Not just that." Maxwell said with an exhale. "What Sara and I had was beautiful and it was special and I know it meant the world to the both of us just being together." He paused, not sure how to continue the thought.

"And you're not sure it can ever be like that again?"

"No, no, I don't doubt that I can't have that again with someone else. I know I can." He said, surely. "But what if that's not enough for her? What if I'm not enough?"

"Sir, why do you think you wouldn't be enough? You kept Sara happy for over a decade."

"But we were young when we got together, neither of us had been with many people and I didn't really have a lasting effect on the ones I was with before her. You saw what happened when Chloe was here, she couldn't even remember our times together."

"I think that had less to do with your performance and more to do with the revolving door of men in her life."

"Still, how do I go about pleasing a woman who is used to more than what I have to offer?"

"You are likely just overthinking this. I think that she, that the right woman, would be very happy with you and everything you have to offer her. No matter what you do or don't do."

"You think?"

"Yeah, I do." Niles said, seeing a sense of concern remaining even with his words of encouragement. "If you are still concerned about it, you could always try new things. You'd be surprised, you might even end up enjoying some of the more daring stuff yourself."

"I'll think about it." Maxwell said, giving him a grateful look before he turned and left the room. He took a breath, looking back down at the magazine. He grabbed a pen and flipped it open to the page listed, opening up to the quiz that read 'Is your man doing everything he can to please you in the bedroom?'.

The next afternoon Maxwell had still yet to decide if he had the nerve to try the new thing he was considering doing to spice things up in the bedroom. It was an idea he had gotten from the quiz he took, something he was always aware of but would be brand new to him. It wasn't that he didn't want to do it, he certainly did, and the more he thought about it, the more he wanted to experience it. That still didn't stop him from being nervous about it, he wasn't even sure how effective it would be if he did try.

He pushed the idea to the back of his mind for the moment being, he had already spent too much time today thinking it over and he had other things to do. His stomach grumbled and he decided to go check on lunch, leaving his office and heading into the kitchen.

"Children, Miss Fine." Maxwell said, getting greetings back from his three kids and the woman that had been on his mind all morning. "Where's Niles? I was coming to see how lunch was coming along." He asked, walking over beside Fran at the island.

"He just ran to get a bandage for his hand." Fran told him as she sliced up some fruit. "We had a little mishap while cutting up apples."

"He cut himself?"

"No, I did." She said, getting a concerned look from him. "Hey, in my defense, I told him to stop critiquing how I was cutting them and to get his hands out of the way."

"He also should have listened when you said 'if you try it one more time I am going to cut you'." Brighton said, turning around in the kitchen chair to face them.

"That was an empty threat, I didn't mean to actually do it."

"Well, I am starving, but now I am a little frightened to ask if you need any assistance." Maxwell said.

"We're just about done anyways." She said, grabbing an apple slice off the plate and holding it out to him. "Here, I don't think this one has any blood on it."

"Thanks." He said dryly as he grabbed it from her and took a bite. "So, what are everyone's plans for today?"

"The park finally opened back up so we're gonna ride our bikes there and check out all the new equipment." Maggie told him from where she sat on the barstool.

"No, Gracie and I are checking out the new equipment. You are going to check out Jaden's older brother." Brighton mocked.

"Rat." She snided back.

"Dad, it looks so cool." He said, excitedly. "They put in this huge slide and a rock-climbing wall, oh, and the coolest thing, they put in a flying fox."

"Flying fox? What in the world is that?" Fran asked.

"It's this rope with a seat on it that is connected to a rail and when you sit on it and lift your legs off the ground you slide all the way to the other side on it." Maxwell explained.

"How do you know what that is?"

"I did have a childhood."

"Really? I just assumed you came out in a little suit and tie, crying to Niles to get you a sippy cup of tea."

"No, but he does that now occasionally." Niles said, walking back into the kitchen with his freshly bandaged finger.

"Feel free to give him another jab." Maxwell said, making Fran smirk as he grabbed the plate of apple slices and walked over to set it on the table before he sat down with the younger kids. "Gracie, sweetie, are you excited to try the flying fox?"

"No." She said, shaking her head. "It sounds scary. What if the rope breaks? Or it goes too fast and I fall off."

"It goes like half a mile per hour, it's not going to make you fall off. And if it can hold Zachary Helbert, it can hold you no problem." Brighton said.

"He's right, sweetheart, it isn't anything to be afraid of." Maxwell told her. "I used to play on them all the time when I was your age."

"See, Gracie, if your daddy tried it, it can't be anything too scary." Fran said as her and Niles walked over with everyone's lunch plates, setting them onto the table.

"What are you implying?" He asked, looking up at her with a furrowed brow.

"I'm just pointing out to her that if you of all people did it then it can't be that bad."

"I'm not a coward, you know. I can be audacious."

"People who use the term audacious, are not audacious."

"I'll have you know I take plenty of risks."

"Name one."

"I hired you, didn't I?" He deadpanned, making her grin.

"Touche." She said, setting the last plate in front of him before sitting down with her own.

"Do you really think I should try it, daddy?" Gracie asked, looking over at her father.

"Well, I don't want you to do anything that you aren't comfortable with." Maxwell started, "But if you are up for it you could also give it a try, you don't know, you might really enjoy it and then it would seem so scary anymore."

"Okay, I'll try it." She said, smiling as she started eating her lunch.

"That's great advice, sir." Niles said, smirking over at him.

Maxwell looked back at him, giving him a knowing look before he glanced back at Fran. "So, Miss Fine. Do you have any big plans while they are at the park?"

"Oh, yes." Fran said, swallowing her bite of sandwich. "I'm finally going to organize my closet and get rid of some of the old stuff I don't need."

"You've been saying you were going to do that the whole time you've lived here." Niles pointed out.

"Yes, but last time I was in there I saw my old tie dye jumper and matching headband." Fran said, shaking at the image of it. "That was a real eye opener for me." She said, taking a sip of her water before she looked at Maxwell and she spoke again. "What about you? Any exciting plans?"

"No, just same 'ol, same 'ol." Maxwell said, watching her as she nodded before going back to eating her food. There was definitely no surprise detected there, but he was going to change that.

After they were all finished with lunch and cleaned up, Fran went with the kids outside to help them get their bikes ready for their trip to the park. Inside the house, Maxwell walked over to the island near Niles who had just finished loading the dishwasher.

"Niles, I was thinking, we don't have much going on around here today. Why don't you go ahead and take the rest of the day off?" Maxwell suggested.

"You're offering me the day off?" Niles asked, squinting his eyes at him.

"Yes, it is a beautiful day out. You should get out there and enjoy it."

"I guess that might be nice. The Nathaniel's butler has the day off today and he mentioned going to the horse tracks."

"That sounds like it would be a great time."

"Yes, it would be, but-" He paused, wondering how much he could milk this.

"But what?"

"Well, I'm a little low on funds and it wouldn't be much fun going there without making a few bets."

"I can spot you." Maxwell said, pulling out his wallet and sifting through his bills. "Would a fifty do?"

"I guess if I don't get anything to eat." Niles said, then Maxwell grabbed another one and handed them over to him. "Thank you, sir." He said, tucking the money into his upper coat pocket. "However, there is also cab fare."

"Don't push it." He said, catching onto him.

"Yes, sir." Niles said, saying a quick goodbye to him before he headed out the back door.

Maxwell walked over and glanced out the door, waiting till he was out of sight before leaving the kitchen and making his way upstairs.

About twenty minutes later Fran had gotten the kids bikes ready and they were off to the park, leaving her to have a little free time. She went inside and climbed the stairs up to her bedroom, a little confused when she saw her door was closed which she hadn't remembered doing. She shrugged it off, opening the door and walking inside.

"The kids all off now?" Maxwell asked as he looked over at her from where he sat in the middle of her bed, startling her.

"Mister Sheffield!" Fran said, setting her hand on her chest. "It's the middle of the day. What are you doing in here? Niles could have come in to clean and caught you."

"Doubtful." He said, setting the magazine he had been flipping through on the nightstand. "I gave him the day off. He already left to join his friend at the horse tracks."

"Really?" Fran said, locking her door before she walked over beside the bed. "So, Niles is gone with a friend, all the kids are at the park, and here you are in my bed. Whatever do you have in mind, Mister Sheffield?"

"Join me on the bed and you'll find out." Maxwell said, grabbing her arm and yanking her onto the bed with him. He sat her between his legs and pulled her closer to him, her back laying against his chest as he wrapped his arms around her. He placed a few kisses on her cheek and neck before she turned her head, pecking him a couple times on the lips. "What took you so long? I thought you were getting the kids their bikes then coming right up to your room."

"Brighton forgot his bike lock combination again so we had to go through all the bad four-letter words till one finally worked. Your son has quite the vocabulary."

"Which one did it end up being?"

"Well, I don't want to say it aloud, but I'll give you a hint. If you're really lucky, it's what we're about to do."

"I'm taking that lock away from him."

"Then his bike will get stolen."

"Maybe then he will learn not to be so crude."

"Prude."

"No, crude, like vulgar."

"I know what it means. I wasn't correcting you, I was calling you a prude."

"You think I'm a prude, huh?"

"If the chastity belt fits." She joked, smirking over at him.

Maxwell stared at her a moment and her smile dropped, clearly worried she might have gone too far with her joke. Before she had a chance to speak he reached up a hand to the front of her neck and shoved her head up, giving him better access to her lips as he leaned down and kissed her roughly.

Fran let out an unexpected moan into his mouth, her hand going up to his hair and gripping it tightly as she kissed him back. She felt his teeth trace her bottom lip, pinching onto it and tugging it with him as he pulled away. She followed with him till he released her lip and moved back a few inches, his eyes opening into hers and staring at her with desire. She sucked at her lip, tasting the blood from where he had lightly punctured it before he leaned back in and kissed her again. She felt his hand start to travel up her chest, going to the top button on her blouse just as the phone on her nightstand started to ring and they broke apart.

"Perfect timing." She said sarcastically, looking over at the phone as she got ready to go for it.

"Ignore it." He said, setting a finger on her chin and turning her back to face him.

"What if it's important?"

"More important than this?" He said, kissing her again.

"If it's something important I suppose they will call back." She said, setting a hand on his face as she leaned in and kissed him again.

The ringing died down and there were a few moments of silence before it started back up, the both of them pulling apart with an exhale.

Fran stayed in his arms while she reached over and grabbed the phone off the hook, putting it to her ear. "Hello?" She said, listening to the voice on the other end. "Hey, ma. What's going on?" She asked and Maxwell watched her reaction to make sure nothing was the matter. She rolled her eyes and he took that as a sign to stop worrying. "That is what was so important that you had to ring me twice in a row?" She paused. "No, ma, I wasn't ignoring your first call. I was just busy." She explained as Maxwell started running his hand along her arm slowly while she talked. "What do you mean busy with what? I'm working." She said with a little annoyance, smacking his hand away when his touch sent a chill through her body. "What was what noise, ma?" She listened as he started doing it again. "Oh, I was just swatting away some creature that won't leave me alone." She said, glaring back at him and making him stop. "The kids? They rode their bikes to the park." She told her as Maxwell pursed his lips, reaching in front of her and starting to unbutton her blouse. "I have plenty of other tasks I do around this house that don't involve the kids having to be right beside me at all times." She said as she looked down at her now open shirt while he worked on the last button then she shrugged her shoulders and nudged him backwards against the headboard. "Well, I don't have a list of things off the top of my head." She said as her mind began to drift when Maxwell slowly ran his hands underneath her blouse from around her back and to her chest, leaning in and kissing her in the crevice of her neck sloppily as he squeezed both her bra clad breasts in his hands. She let out a silent gasp, laying her head back on his shoulder as he continued attacking her neck. "Ma, I'm gonna have to call you back later, okay? Mister Sheffield needs me right now."

"He sure does." Maxwell whispered in her ear, nodding to her before he went back to kissing her neck.

"Yeah, bye, ma, talk to you later." Fran said, slamming the phone back down on the hook. She shoved him back again, moving away from him and turning to face him. "I was on the phone with my mother. Do you know how difficult that is when you have some irresistible Englishmen kissing and groping you?"

Maxwell squinted his eyes at her. "I can't say that I do."

"Oh, yeah, your mother never calls you." She joked.

"Hilarious." Maxwell said, smirking back at her as he reached over and swiftly pulled her blouse down her shoulder and off her body. He grabbed at the top of her bare arms, pulling her down onto the bed beside him. His hands went right to her body again, pulling her against him as he kissed her passionately and undid the back of her bra.

Fran reached over and started undoing the buttons of his vest and dress shirt, pushing them off onto his shoulders. She moved back, allowing him room to take it off the rest of the way while she finished taking off her bra.

Maxwell threw their clothes off to the floor, rolling back over and laying on top of her. His lips went to hers once more, his tongue slipping into her mouth and tracing the roof of her mouth gently. He leaned off onto one arm, his free hand going to her breast and teasing her nipple.

Fran pulled away from his lips, pressing her head onto her pillow and humming softly to herself in pleasure. She felt him trail kisses down her cheek, onto her jaw and landing on her favorite spot behind her ear. Not wanting to wait any longer, her hands traveled down his bare chest and hooked onto the waistband of his pants. She prepared to undo his belt when he slapped her hands away, stopping her. "What was that for?" She said, more amused than concerned as he lifted his head up and gazed down at her.

"That's not necessary yet."

"Not necessary? I don't know about you, but I am more than ready."

"Oh, so am I." Maxwell said in a low tone, resuming his kisses on her neck. He hastily kissed his way down her body, stopping once he hit her pelvis. He went to his knees on the end of bed, undoing the zipper on her skirt then grabbing onto the sides of it. He yanked at it hard enough to lift her lower body off the bed, making pulling it down off her all the easier. He tossed it off to the side, pausing for a moment to admire the full view he had of her. "God, do you even realize how breathtaking you truly are?"

"I'm starting to." She said as she smiled to herself, melting by the way he gazed at her.

Maxwell took one of her feet into his hand, lifting in up to his mouth and kissing the inside of her ankle. He held onto it as he kissed higher, slowly heading up her calf. He set it back on the bed and let go, running his hand up the opposite side of where he had kissed as he laid his chest onto the bed and kissed up her thighs till he couldn't get any further on her leg. He glanced up at her from where he was now positioned right between her legs, reading her expression for any signs that she didn't want him to keep going. When he saw no protest he looked back down, continuing.

Fran let her mouth gap a little in surprise as she watched him, not at all expecting him to be engaging in what she was now certain he was doing. She kept her eyes on him as he slid his hands under her thighs, raising them both up onto his shoulders to give himself better access. She watched as he leaned in, placing a single kiss onto her before lingering in place and letting his hot breath warm her. Her eyes fluttered shut at the feeling, not knowing such a simple feeling could drive her so crazy.

Maxwell glanced back up at her again, smirking proudly to himself seeing that what he was doing was already having an effect on her and he hadn't even started yet. He kept his gaze fixed on her as he slipped his tongue into her folds, swirling around slowly. He saw her hand jerk onto the bed, gripping her blanket tightly as her head laid backwards onto her pillow. To say he enjoyed watching the look of pleasure on her face as he went down on her would be putting it lightly. He had never experienced something quite so arousing as seeing her in that state while he felt the way she was twitching against his mouth. When he had felt he teased her enough with the leisurely pace, he began sucking on her clit.

Fran raised her hips slightly off the bed, adding more pressure to the already euphoric feeling she was experiencing. She wasn't sure how much more of this she was going to be able to take, nearly ready to go over the edge when he started using his whole mouth to kiss her insides and lapping his tongue against her. She reached up both hands and grabbed her headboard, tightening her legs around his neck as he increased his speed even more. She called out his name as her orgasm hit, whimpers escaping her mouth as he kept it going to ride it out the rest of the way.

Maxwell slowed his pace to a stop once he was sure she was fully satisfied, pulling back and sloppily kissing her thigh a couple times before he slid both her legs back off him and onto the bed. He watched her as she finally opened her eyes back up, looking down at him with pure desire. He stood up off the bed, removing his slacks and briefs hastily before he climbed his way up the bed so he was back on top of her again. Going straight for her lips he kissed her hungrily, pressing his naked body against hers. He didn't feel the need to waste anymore time, reaching a hand down and grabbing onto himself and leading his way to her opening. With very little effort he slid all the way into her and his lips left hers, taking a sharp intake of breath from feeling the arousal he caused.

Fran opened her eyes, looking at the tortured look on his face as he tried to contain himself. She reached up and set her hands on either side of her face, caressing it. She considered telling him that he need not worry about her as she was already more than satisfied, but she knew his pride would ignore that suggestion anyways. She leaned up and kissed him gently as they kept their movements stilled, ready to give him a minute to cool down a bit.

Maxwell appreciated what she was doing, but he was in no mood to slow things down any. He moved his head to her neck, kissing it roughly as he started thrusting into her rapidly. After a minute or so he felt her hands slide to his back, digging her nails into his skin as she started to finish again. He went faster and harder as he started to feel his own release, grateful that she didn't take very long as he wasn't sure how much longer he would have been able to hold off after that experience. He slowed his pace to a complete still, resting his elbows on the bed beside her as they both gasped for air. When they finally regained their breath he gazed down at her, leaning in and placing a slow soft kiss on her lips.

"Wow." Fran said as she looked up at him when he pulled back a little, reaching up to play with the ends of his sweaty hair. "That was something."

"Something good, I hope." He said, partly as a question.

"Something very good." She said, pulling his head down and giving him another kiss.

"Good." Maxwell said, giving her one more peck before climbing off her and laying beside her in bed. He propped himself up on one elbow, facing her and running a hand along her bare arm.

"Not that I am complaining, not at all in fact." She added with a smirk. "But what was all that for?"

"I thought I should try spicing things up, do something a little unexpected."

Fran looked him over, noticing a sense of worry in the way he spoke. "I hope you didn't feel like you had to do something like that because I teased you about being a prude."

"No, that's not why I did it. It's something I've been thinking about awhile now."

"Okay, good, because it really was just a joke. I would never want you to feel like that's the way I think of you."

"But it's kind of true, isn't it?"

"No, not even a little." She said seriously, shaking her head. "I know that you are normally very reserved, but if I have learned anything these last few months, it's that you are not the timid innocent little puppy dog that I thought you were."

"Well, thank you?" He said unsurely, making her chuckle. "So, you aren't getting bored with me?"

"Are you kidding me? At this point I can hardly keep up with you."

"Be serious."

"I am! Not that I should be giving you an ego boost by saying this, but I have never been with anyone else who makes me feel the things you make me feel. When I'm alone I find myself sitting and thinking about just how good it is to be with you and then I think to myself that I must be exaggerating it in my head, 'cause there is no way that it can really be as good as I am remembering it. Then I'm with you again, and it's not only as good as I remember, but it's even better every time."

"You really feel that way?"

"Yes, I do." She said, truthfully. "I am by no means bored and I don't think the main thing we've been doing could ever get boring either. Though I'm definitely not opposed to the new stuff too because that was very, very good."

"It's been upgraded to two very's now?"

"It could be upgraded to a hell of a lot more than two, but neither of us have the time for me to rattle all those very's off."

"That's good to know." He said, smiling to himself. "I wasn't really sure it would be any good. I've never actually done, you know, that before. I doubt it was the best you've ever had, but-"

Fran cut him off. "The best? I haven't done that before either."

"You haven't?" He asked, shocked.

"No, never. I don't think I've ever been with someone who cared enough about my pleasure to do something completely for me alone, without them getting anything out of it."

"Oh, I'm sorry." He said, suddenly feeling ashamed. "I would have brought it up to you beforehand if I had known. I just assumed because you seemed so comfortable with it that you had."

"You don't have to apologize. I was comfortable with it because I'm always comfortable with you. In fact, you're the only guy I've ever felt truly comfortable with."

"I feel comfortable with you too." Maxwell said, reaching over to her cheek and caressing it. "I never thought I would feel that again." He added, the both of them leaning in and sharing a sweet kiss.

Fran pulled back a little, smiling as she looked him over. "I guess we should probably get dressed before the kids get back from the park. That flying fox thing can only keep their attention for so long."

"I don't know, that thing is pretty entertaining. We might have some more time." He said, kissing her shoulder lightly.

"Do you really believe that, or is that just wishful thinking on your part?"

"You think that I would lie about how much fun the flying fox is?" He asked, moving over to kiss her neck.

"If you had an ulterior motive you just might."

Maxwell pulled away from her neck, looking her in the eyes. "I'm insulted that you would think that." He said, putting on a fake look of offense.

"Well, if it's as great as you make it out to be, maybe we should head over there and try it out for ourselves." She said, starting to climb out of bed.

"Who am I kidding? It's just some ridiculous playground equipment, it can't be that great." Maxwell said as he pulled her back into bed and into his arms. "Besides, I can think of something far more entertaining." He said, kissing her passionately.

Chapter Text

Ever since Fran had gotten to the Sheffield house she felt pampered in ways she was not used to. She went from sharing a two bedroom apartment with her parents to living in a mansion with a family that she had grown to love as if they were her own. Every day her meals were served on fancy plates in a grand dining room, where in the past she felt lucky if she didn't have to use a napkin as a substitute when someone used the last paper plate. A party used to be when a neighbor would invite everyone over before the items in their fridge were ready to expire and they didn't want them to go to waste, now it was big cast parties, benefits and galas with some of the finest dressed people she had ever seen.

Life had definitely changed for her in the last couple years. Who would have known taking a job on a whim would be able to make such a big difference in her life, but it certainly did. Still, the one way she had never anticipated to be getting spoiled here was in the bedroom. The new additional activities in her relationship with Maxwell was not at all what she had expected. Of course, before they were together her mind would wander to what he might be like and she never doubted his abilities. He just had a certain attitude to him that made her sure he wouldn't be one to disappoint.

Even so, his efforts went above and beyond what she had ever imagined. It wasn't just that he knew what he was doing, which was honestly a lot more than she could say about most of the guys she had been with, but he actually put care into their time together. He made it his mission to ensure that she was fully satisfied before he even considered himself in the equation, and all this from a man that hadn't even had sex in six years. Hell, she knew men that didn't have that kind of restraint after six weeks.

What was on her mind the most was his recent endeavor with her last week. He had been so concerned about pleasing her that he went out of his way to try something he wasn't at all familiar with, just because he felt that she needed more from him. If she hadn't been in such a pure state of bliss afterwards, she could have laughed when she heard such a crazy thing. She couldn't possibly ask for more than what she had felt with him since their first night together, though she was more than grateful that he was willing to offer it.

Knowing his consideration for her, she was now set on returning the favor to him. It was just a matter of time before they would be alone together again and she was getting more and more eager to see his reaction.

"Did you guys find the investor portfolio you were looking for?" Fran asked, walking into Maxwell's office.

C.C. glared over at her from where she was digging through the file cabinet, clearly still searching. "Yes, we found it and now we are just sorting through everything else for the hell of it."

"No, we haven't had such luck yet." Maxwell said, shutting his desk drawer. "My desk is completely gone through, so it must be in that cabinet." He said, getting up and walking over toward the pile of files that she had set on the end table.

"There isn't anywhere else you might have put it, say your bedroom?" Fran said, tilting her head down to try to get him to look at her. "I could help you look in there while C.C. checks the cabinet."

"No, I never bring those kinds of papers up there." He said, not catching on as he peeked through the files.

Fran rolled her eyes, obviously not getting her point across. "Are you sure? It doesn't hurt to check."

"I'm sure." He said, looking over to C.C.. "Although, we did have it when we went to Bridgeport last week."

"You're right, it could be in my car." C.C. said, shoving the file she had in her hands back into the cabinet. "I'll go look." She said, heading out of the office.

Fran took a few steps over to where Maxwell was now sifting through the cabinet and stood right behind him, reaching around him and shoving the drawer closed.

"Miss Fine, what was that for?" Maxwell said, turning around to face her. He didn't have any time to react before she grabbed onto the back of his neck and pulled him into a kiss. He took a few moments to reciprocate before he came to his senses, pulling back a little. "We can't be doing this right now. C.C. will only be gone a minute."

"It's just a kiss, I'm not trying to jump you. You missed your chance at that when you turned down my suggestion to look for the file in your bedroom." She said, kissing his neck.

"I really need to get better at reading your subtext." He said, taking a breath as she undid the top buttons on his shirt and started kissing his upper chest. "Okay, any lessening of clothing is definitely considered more than just a kiss."

Fran pulled away, looking him in the eyes as she ran her hands around on his shoulders. "I'm just trying to have a little fun while we have a few seconds to ourselves."

"While it may be fun for you, every time you do this I wind up having to hide behind my desk for the next twenty minutes while I try to think of anything other than what you are doing to me right now."

"So, are you saying that this isn't worth it?" Fran asked, pushing him against the cabinet as she kissed his lips again. She got his answer when he grabbed onto her hips, turning her around and pressing her up against the cabinet as he kissed her deeper.

"I found it!" C.C. said, excitedly as she headed back toward the office door.

Maxwell let go of Fran, quickly grabbing a file off the stack beside him and holding it near his waist as she entered the room. "Great, now maybe we can finally find someone who is willing to shell out some money." He said, holding his hand out to take the portfolio from her. He glanced back at Fran a moment, smiling a little as he shook his head at her and went over to sit behind his desk.

Fran followed along with him, sitting herself up on the corner of his desk and crossing her legs. "Did you try reaching out to Preston Waller yet? You said that he might be interested last time." She asked, looking down at him.

"I did, and he said his money is all tied up with a commercial investment at the moment." Maxwell said, pulling his desk chair in and opening up the folder. "May Slater mentioned that she might be able to commit some of the funds we need, but it's not even a fraction of what we will have to have just to get everything started up."

"Oh, you should try Faye Gardner." C.C. suggested, closing up the cabinet as she finished putting all the loose files away. "I thought she was on a serving line the way she dished out money for our last play." She said, sitting on the couch.

"I already called her." Maxwell replied. "She wasn't too happy with the profit margin from that production and she used some choice words on where me and my play could go."

"Let me get this straight, all these investors in this portfolio of yours are past donors?" Fran asked.

"Yes, that's why we call it our investor portfolio. It seemed rather fitting."

"No offense, but don't you think it might be easier to try and squeeze donations out of people whose money you haven't already lost?"

"We don't always lose their money, most of the time they come out of it with a few extra bucks."

"Yeah, I heard you say the same thing on the phone to Faye earlier right before you had to pull the phone away from your ear so you wouldn't suffer permanent hearing loss."

"So, what you are suggesting is that we reach out to some new investors?"

"It couldn't hurt."

"Nanny Fine, if finding a new investor was as easy as you are trying to make it sound, don't you think we would have done that already?" C.C. stated.

"I suppose, you are known for covering things that are easy." Fran snided, getting a glare from her in return. "Sorry, Niles is making supper and he would never let me live it down if I let that one slip away."

"C.C. is right, you can't just pick up a new investor off the street, they have to have a vested interest." Maxwell explained.

"Well, what about that guy that we were talking to at that charity auction a few weeks ago?"

"Which one?"

"I don't know, I think it was for arthritis or osteoporosis or some other disease like that that makes it harder to open a pickle jar."

"Not which auction, which guy."

"Oh, the cute sandy blonde guy who mentioned wanting to start making some investments, y'know, the one who accidentally spilled the champagne on my blouse."

"Ethan Davies?" Maxwell said, annoyance in his tone. "I wouldn't say he has a vested interest. More like an interest in your vest, or rather what is underneath it."

"He is not interested in me, he was just being friendly."

"There wasn't a drop of liquor left on your top by the time he was done patting it with that thin little napkin."

"Okay, maybe he was a little interested, but he would still make a great choice. He is loaded and he is new to investing, so he's eager to get his foot in the door."

"I appreciate the suggestion, but I think I will just stick with the people I'm familiar with for now."

"Suit yourself." She said with a shrug, hopping off his desk. "But if you change your mind, I'd be happy to help you with persuading him."

"Sure, I'll keep that in mind." He lied, not planning to give any more thought to the idea of her enticing any other man, even if it was to help them.

"Alright, I'm gonna go check on the children to make sure they are getting their homework finished before supper. I'll leave you to your schmoozing." Fran said, giving him a quick wink before she headed out of his office.

Maxwell smiled back at her, watching her as she left the room. When she was out of sight he went back to his portfolio, getting ready to make the endless calls pleading for whatever pocket change they could get from their past donors.

"I never thought I would say this, but Nanny Fine does make a good point about Ethan Davies." C.C. pointed out. "New investors do make easy prey and the man was pretty gaga over her at the auction. If you invited him out to the house she could do her usual not-so-subtle routine she does anytime there is an attractive single man around and he will turn into putty in our hands."

"I'm not looking to use Miss Fine as a pawn just to benefit our business."

"We've done it in the past."

"And I didn't like it those times either. I'm certainly not going to allow it now, after everything."

"After everything what?" She asked, causing him to freeze a few moments.

"You know, everything that has happened. Anytime Miss Fine gets involved with the business side of things, something ends up going sour and we have to scramble just to fix things." Maxwell said, hoping she didn't notice how thinly veiled his defense was. It was a great excuse, though not one he ever committed to using when the situation didn't involve Fran hanging around another man.

"That's true." C.C. agreed. "Plus, the thought of keeping her out of our hair is definitely more appealing."

"Okay, so it's settled, we'll keep her out of this." Maxwell said, happy that he had convinced the both of them of it so easily. "I'm gonna start making those calls, see what kind of support we can get." He said, picking up his phone and dialing the first number on his list.

With the kids all finally in bed for the night, Fran decided to sneak off and see if she couldn't find Maxwell to give him a little late night treat. As she went down the hallway she noticed his bedroom door still open and peeked inside, not seeing him anywhere in sight. While he was preparing for his upcoming production she found that it happened more and more when she went looking for him, he was staying down in his office till later in the evening in preparation.

Tonight she was going to take his mind off of work, if she was successful she assumed his mind wouldn't be on much of anything. She headed downstairs and crept towards his office, quietly stepping inside and closing the door behind her.

"Hi, Mister Sheffield." Fran said in a seductive tone.

Maxwell looked up from the papers he had been staring down at, shaking his head. "No." He said, simply.

"You don't even know what I came in here for." She said with a small chuckle.

"I've heard that tone dozens of times before, I know exactly what you came in here for and I'm saying no. There is no lock on my office door and Niles is still awake."

"So?"

"So? What do you think he's going to think if he walks in and sees you stark naked on top of my desk?"

"We'll just tell him we're playing doctor. That's what I told my mother when she walked in on me and-" Fran paused, seeing how unpleased he looked with that example. "And that's not a good story to tell a guy you're trying to seduce. Moving on." She said, walking over in front of his desk and smiling down at him.

"Try all you want, I'm not giving in."

"Ah, ha." She said as she undid the first few buttons on her blouse, setting her hands on his desk and leaning forward to give him the perfect view of her red lace bra.

Maxwell took his glasses off, looking down at her chest as he swallowed the saliva in his mouth. It's as if she knew what that color on her did to him. He could still picture the first time he had seen her in it, coming down his staircase her first weekend at the house. That was the first time in years that he had imagined himself with another woman in an intimate way. It drove him crazy back then, now it was just a step above torture.

"Stand up." Fran ordered him, causing him to look up at her and shake his head. She reached forward and grabbed onto his tie, pulling at it to get him up on his feet. Once she had him at eye level she gazed at him with an enticing look, the same one that always made him lose all normal brain function. She reached up to his head, running her hand slowly through his hair.

Maxwell let his eyes drift closed, taking in the feeling. When he opened them back up he stared back at her, setting a hand on his desk for balance as the other went to the back of her neck to pull her toward him and into a kiss. His hand slid around to the front of her neck, putting pressure on her chin with his thumb to open her mouth further and give his tongue better access.

Now that she was sure she had him, she let go of his tie and set her hands on his shoulders. With a sudden motion she shoved him back down into his office chair, leaving him with a look on his face that was a combination of shock and pure turn on. "Mister Sheffield, what are you thinking being so careless? Niles could have walked in and saw us." She said, making a tsk tsk sound at him.

"You were the one who started it!" He defended.

"Yes, but I didn't want to do anything out in the open where we could get caught."

Maxwell glanced around the room at all the open spaces, confused. "Then where did you want it to happen?"

"Well, there is one place in this room that is out of view." She said, leaning back and taking a quick glance under his desk.

"I don't think we would both fit under there."

"You're right, we both probably wouldn't." Fran said with a shrug. "But I would." She said, kicking off her heels.

"What are you doing?" Maxwell asked, eyeing her as she smiled back at him. He watched as she kneeled to the ground, climbing underneath his desk. At first he couldn't believe what she was doing, that was until her hands went to his knees and pushed them apart. "Oh my god, you're insane." He stated as she slowly ran her hands up his thighs, grazing his groin as her hands went to his belt.

"Well, from what I can tell, it seems insanity turns you on." Fran said, unbuckling his belt. She undid the button on his slacks then pulled the zipper down at a painfully slow pace. Once they were undone she grabbed onto his waistband, pulling down the materials that were keeping her from the area that she was looking to pay some in depth attention to. She traced her fingers back up his legs, taking him into her left hand. She smiled to herself as she felt just how aroused she had already made him, starting to stroke him slowly.

"Oh god." Maxwell said, his eyes fluttering shut. "That feels amazing, Miss Fine."

"Let me know how this feels." Fran said, moving her hand to the base as she breathed lightly onto him. She faintly swirled her tongue along the tip, licking off the precum that had formed there before she wrapped her lips around him. She slid down at a gingerly pace, not stopping till she felt him hit the back of her throat.

Maxwell opened his mouth and took a sharp breath as she started moving her mouth up and down on him, his hand going to the sheet of paper on his desk and crumbling it up into a ball to squeeze.

Fran repeated the motion a few more times then she released him with a pop. "How's that feel, Mister Sheffield?"

"It feels so good." Maxwell said, blissfully. As she went back to it he let his head fall back onto his chair, fighting the urge he had to raise his hips. She clearly wanted to be in control, and that was something he was fully willing and eager to give her. He was grateful after a few minutes when she began to speed up the pace, using both her hand and her mouth to create even more pleasure. He let out a moan, feeling as though he were right on the edge now. "Miss Fine." He breathed out his hands fumbling around as he tried to control himself. "Miss Fine." He repeated loudly, his hands grabbing onto the arms of his chair and gripping them tightly.

Fran knew exactly why he was trying to get her attention, so instead of stopping she went even faster. She bobbed up and down as quickly as she could, humming softly to add extra sensation.

When he couldn't handle it any longer he finally let go, moaning as he felt his release. He slowly unclenched his hands from his chair, tapping one of his palms onto it as he enjoyed the feeling of her sucking all the warm liquid from his body. She gave him a few more slurps to make sure he was finished off before she removed her mouth from him, staying in place as he worked on regaining his normal breathing rate. Once it had finally slowed enough to snap him back into reality, he got ready to speak just as there was a knock at the office door. His eyes popped open and widened, looking over as Niles walked into the room. "Niles, ah, what can I do for you?" He asked quickly, hoping to make it clear to Fran that they were no longer alone. Judging by the way she had stilled completely under the desk, he was sure that she already got the hint.

"Do for me?" Niles asked, looking over at him oddly. "I came in here to see if you were heading up to bed or if you needed anything else?"

"Ah, I think I'm gonna stay here awhile, y'know, work on my ah," He paused, grabbing the crinkled up piece of paper and unwrinkling it. "My tax form here."

"I do the same thing to mine when I see what I made in a year." He said, starting to walk over toward the desk.

"What are you doing?" Maxwell asked, somewhat frantically.

"If you're going to be up awhile, I was going to freshen up your tea."

"No, I still have-" He paused, picking up the empty kettle and pretending as though it was heavier. "Ah, yeah, that's still pretty full. I should be good on any refills."

"I brought that in hours ago, how is it still full?"

"I just haven't really felt like it today."

Niles looked him over, noticing something was off with him. "Are you feeling alright? You look awfully red and you're sweating quite a bit. You might be coming down with something."

"No, I'm alright."

"I'm getting you some medication just to be safe." He said as he started to walk away, not fully believing him.

"That's not necessary, really, Niles, I feel perfectly fine."

Niles turned back toward him, catching a glimpse of a pair of heels that were lying on the floor near the desk. He squinted his eyes as he looked back at Maxwell, noticing as he took a quick glance down at his lap then looked back at him with a guilty expression on his face. "Ah, well, I suppose that's best. You probably don't want to end up in bed with Miss Fine again after all."

"I beg your pardon?"

"You know, the last time you had too much cold medication we found you two curled up in bed together."

"Oh, yeah, wouldn't want that to happen again."

"Well, if you don't need me for anything else I'm just gonna head upstairs to bed already and leave you here to finish up your taxes." He said, over pronouncing the word 'taxes'.

"Okay, good night." Maxwell said, waiting till Niles was out of the room and the door was closed again. He slid his chair back, pulling his pants on and quickly doing them back up. He held out a hand to Fran to hold as she climbed out from under his desk, standing up beside him. "That was painfully awkward."

"I don't know, it wasn't that bad."

"That's because you were out of sight. You didn't have to pretend like there wasn't a gorgeous woman under your desk who had just blown your mind."

"Well, I don't think it was your mind that I was-"

"Miss Fine!" He said, stopping her. "I'm serious. Aren't you even worried that he could have figured out you were under my desk?"

"Of course I was worried. Do you know what would happen if it got back to my mother what I was doing under there, with a British man no less? She wouldn't let me be buried in a Jewish cemetery."

"Okay, well, just so we can agree then, we have to start being more careful."

Fran smirked at him, wrapping her arms around his waist and pulling him closer to her. "I know, we really shouldn't be getting so brave."

"Miss Fine, that isn't going to work again."

"It isn't?" She asked, running her hands around his lower back.

"You know I'm weak, don't toy with me."

"I'm not toying with you." Fran said, putting more pressure on his back to press him up against her body. She grinned as she saw his eyes close, leaning up to whisper into his ear. "Now I'm toying with you."

"We just talked about this." He said, opening them back up as he tried to regain his control. "Didn't you learn from Niles walking in that this is too risky?"

"The only thing I learned from Niles coming in here is that he is going to bed, all the way upstairs." Fran pointed out, setting a hand on his face and tracing her fingers along his chin. She stood up on her tippy toes, kissing him passionately a minute before pulling back. "Now, are you going to try to keep up this resistant act you have going on?" She asked, undoing the last few buttons off her blouse and pulling it off her shoulders. "Or are you going to come join me on the sofa?" She asked, setting her shirt in his hand as she walked away from him and started heading to the other side of the room.

Maxwell played with the fabric of her blouse in his hands, looking over at her as she stood waiting for him. "I'm getting a lock for this door tomorrow." He said, tossing her shirt onto the floor as he made his way over to her. He wrapped his arms around her back, kissing her roughly as he lowered her down onto the sofa.

Chapter Text

This summer had definitely made marked improvement from last year. Not just because the kids were no longer forcing the family to go watch The Lion King every other day or screaming at their Nintendo game, but they had become a bit more independent and got along as well as one could hope from a group of children their ages. It gave the adults some peace and quiet every once in a while, which all of them welcomed, especially Fran and Maxwell.

Today however, things weren't going as smoothly as the rest of the summer had. They were currently in an end of August heat wave and unfortunately it was just the day that the air conditioning unit decided to stop working. The whole house was more comparable to a sauna than a place of comfort, causing all the kids to be miserable.

"Gracie, sweetie, why are you eating like that?" Maxwell asked, looking over at her as she laid her head on the table and spooned her food into her mouth.

"It's too hot to hold my head up." Gracie stated.

"Be careful, you stay that way too long and your face will get stuck to the table in this heat." Maggie pointed out, causing her to lift her head back up.

"Oh, come on, it is not that bad." Maxwell said, getting a groan from all three kids. "Niles, you don't think it's too hot in here, do you?"

"No, sir, I would agree, it's not too hot." Niles said as he walked back over to the serving table and grabbed the bucket of ice, pouring it inside his shirt.

"Niles, do we have any more ice for my water?" Brighton asked.

"Uhmm, no, all out." He said, setting the bucket back down.

"Geez, what a day for the air to go on the fritz." Fran said as she walked into the dining room in a pair of shorts and a tank top, going over next to Niles to start making her plate. "Can you believe this heat?"

"I was just saying how it wasn't that bad, but if it's enough to get you dressed for breakfast then maybe I was wrong." Maxwell said, smirking over at her.

"Not that bad? All my lipsticks turned to glosses, I had to go steal a brush out of Gracie's play makeup set just to do my lips." She said, walking over and sitting down at the dining table with her plate. "How are you wearing a suit and tie in this kind of weather?"

"I'm leaving for Albany with C.C. after we're through with breakfast, we have a meeting with a potential investor."

"Well, that's why you aren't bothered about the heat, you're about to spend all day in a nice air conditioned limo."

"Even without the air conditioning, three hours in an automobile with Miss Babcock is enough to cool any man down." Niles added.

"No, I'm not bothered by it because men have a different tolerance to hot weather." Maxwell stated.

"You do not, so drop the tough guy act." Fran said, waving a hand at him.

"We do, and Niles agrees with me too. You don't see him complaining about being all dressed up."

"Niles has ice cubes falling out of his pants." She pointed out, all of them looking over at him.

"They did not fall out of my slacks, I spilled them on the ground." Niles defended, just before the phone started to ring in the other room.

"Aren't you going to go answer that?" Maxwell asked.

"Ah, yes." He said, walking off and causing a few more ice cubes to fall out the bottoms as he left the room.

Fran grinned smugly back at Maxwell before taking a bite of her food and looking over to the children. "What do you all think of spending the day at the club? We can get out of this heat and finally make some use out of that membership your father pays so much for."

"That sounds fun." Gracie said.

"I'm in." Maggie agreed. "Last time I was there there was this really cute lifeguard on duty at the pool."

"Yeah, we can go swimming and you can start drowning to get his attention, that way even if he doesn't notice you, at least we'll get to see you turn blue." Brighton suggested.

Niles walked back into the dining room, holding out the phone to Maxwell. "Sir, Clifford Benton for you."

"Oh, thank you. He's probably calling to confirm the time for our meeting." Maxwell said, taking it from him. "Hello, Mister Benton… No, I haven't started leaving yet… I understand… No, don't worry about it… Of course, you have a good day too… Goodbye." He said, hanging up the phone.

"I take it he wasn't calling to confirm the meeting time?" Niles said, taking the phone back from him.

"It seems he has run into some financial issues and he didn't want us to make the trip out there for nothing."

"I guess that means you're stuck at home all day then." Fran said, smirking over at him.

Maxwell grimaced, looking over at Niles. "Can you hand me some of that ice from off the floor?"

"Since your day is all freed up now, why don't you come with us to the club." She suggested.

"Yeah, dad, you gotta come with us." Brighton said. "We need an adult that understands the rules of chicken."

"I understand the rules just fine." Fran clarified. "I just have my own set that requires that if a guy is lifting me up on his shoulders, he has to at least have hair on his chest."

"Hey, I have a couple coming in." He defended.

"Didn't stop you from crumbling like blue cheese when you tried lifting me." Maggie pointed out.

"After all these years, you still believe that I wouldn't do something like that on purpose?" He asked, getting a sneer back from her.

"So, daddy, are you coming with us?" Gracie asked, excitedly.

"I guess a nice family outing at the club sounds like a good idea." Maxwell said.

"Great, it's settled." Fran said, happily. "Though you might want to get into something a little more casual after breakfast."

"After breakfast? I'm going to change now." Maxwell said, getting out of his chair. "Niles, could you keep my food warm for me till I get back."

"Sure thing, sir." Niles said, grabbing his plate and setting it in front of the window.

After everyone was finished up with breakfast, they all gathered up their things and made their way to the club. They had even brought Niles along, not taking a whole lot of convincing, especially after he heard that there was poker tournaments held in one of the back rooms.

With the sun out and shining, the rest of the family opted for heading to the pool first. After getting changed into their swimwear they found themselves one of the few tables left, setting down a couple bags and some bottles of water they had picked up from the drink counter inside.

"Man, do you see that line for the diving board?" Brighton asked, looking over at at least a couple dozen people waiting. "We are never going to get a turn at it."

"Yes, but did you notice how few people are lined up at the slide?" Fran pointed out.

"Yeah, because the slide is boring."

"Not when you go down it face first on your stomach like a penguin. Well, just as long as you pinch your nose. Val and I learned that the hard way as kids after we spent a whole week coughing up chlorine."

"Oh, I wanna try that!" Gracie said, excitedly.

"Alright, let's go." Brighton said, getting ready to take off.

"Hold up, aren't you forgetting something?" Fran asked.

"That's right, my goggles."

"No, this." She said, grabbing the sunblock out of the bag and holding it out to him.

"Oh, yeah." He said, taking it from her and squeezing some into his hand before handing it over to Maggie.

"This is why last time we went to the beach you all came home looking like canned ham."

"Daddy, can you help?" Gracie asked after she got the bottle.

"Yeah, sweetheart, come here." Maxwell said, lifting her up and standing her on the chaise beside him.

Fran looked over at the two older kids as Brighton started trying to push Maggie into the pool. "Hey, Brighton, what's the rule?" She called out.

"No pushing people into the pool unless they are within three feet of the water." Brighton said, stopping.

"Right."

"Wouldn't a better rule be 'don't push people into the pool at all'?" Maxwell asked.

"And where is the fun in that?" Fran said, smirking over at him as he took his youngest back down.

"Come on, Gracie, the line is already getting longer." Brighton said, taking his little sister's hand as the two of them wandered off.

"Aren't you going to try the slide too?" She asked, looking over to Maggie.

"No, I'm gonna go stand in line for the diving board." Maggie replied.

"Really? You're gonna be there awhile."

"Yes, but it's right next to the lifeguard stand." She said, nodding toward the cute teen boy that was posted there before she took off in that direction.

Fran waited till she was out of ear shot then she looked over at Maxwell, admiring him as he put on his sunblock. She had seen him shirtless plenty of times now, but something about his toned chest in the sunlight was enough to drive her crazy. "Are you going to help me next?" She asked, smiling over at him.

"I think you can take care of it all on your own."

"Let's see how you feel when I give you that same logic later." She said, getting an eye roll back as he set the bottle in her hands.

"So, I am going to get to see you do this famous penguin slide?"

"I think I've passed the age where sliding belly down on anything is a good idea." Fran said as she took off her sheer swim robe, leaving her in a crop two-piece bikini with a black and white polka dot design on the bottoms and solid red on the top. "Besides, the sun is at the perfect time of day to work on my tan." She said, opening up the bottle of sunblock and putting some in her hands.

Maxwell tipped his sunglasses down and eyed her, watching as she applied it to her legs first then her arms and chest. "You know, come to think of it, you probably aren't going to be able to get your back well enough."

Fran glanced back over at him, smirking as she handed the bottle to him. He squeezed out a good amount then set it on the table, stepping behind her and setting his hands onto her upper back as he started to apply it. He took his time rubbing it in, making sure to get every square inch of uncovered skin. Even after it had gone all clear on her skin he didn't stop, his hand massaging her gently.

"I think it's all rubbed in now." Fran pointed out, his hands stilling on her shoulders.

"I had to make sure, you can never be too careful about skin health."

"Then I should probably make sure you got your back good enough, just to be safe." She said as she turned around, his hands lifting for a moment then setting back down on her shoulders again once she was facing him.

"I'm not sure having your hands on me right now would be playing anything safe."

"Don't think you'd be able to handle it?"

"Oh, I'd be able to handle it. We wouldn't be allowed back in this club though."

"Mister Sheffield, I thought we left the house to get away from this heat." She said, the both of them grinning at each other.

"Fran!" Brighton yelled from the pool, getting their attention as he and Gracie swam toward the edge. "You were right, that was awesome."

Fran turned back to face them, Maxwell's hands finally leaving her body. "I told you the slide is far superior to some boring diving board. Once you have that move mastered, I'll tell you about the tumbleweed."

"The tumbleweed?" Maxwell asked, squinting his eyes as he thought about it for a moment. "No." He added, simply.

"Okay, fine, maybe just stick to the penguin for now." She suggested, both the kids swimming back to the end of the pool with the slide on it.

"You know, you really are wonderful with them." Maxwell said, admiring her as she watched them swim off.

"Well, that's what you hired me for, isn't it?"

"I suppose so." He said, smiling at her before they walked over to the chaise's and sat down.

Fran glanced over at Maxwell, watching him pull out some papers from the satchel he had sitting on the ground next to him. "Don't tell me you are actually trying to get work done right now?" She said, getting his attention.

"What's wrong with that?"

"It's a beautiful day out, you are at a club that's monthly membership fee cost more than my first car and your whole day just got freed up because that investor bailed. Now is the time you should be relaxing."

"That investor backing out is exactly why I need to be working right now. I have to make sure this play is more appealing to potential donors, it needs to be something I can really sell and it just isn't there yet."

"And you think that after weeks on end of working at it, you are going to get it all figured out in a couple hours?"

"I just might." He said, not really believing it himself.

"I don't understand why you don't just contact that guy from the auction, he seemed more than willing to make an investment without even reading the script."

"And that's what every producer wants, an investor who couldn't care less about what they are throwing money at." He said, sarcastically.

"I'm fairly certain I have heard Miss Babcock say that is exactly what you want in an investor."

"That's not how I like to work. I want an investor who believes in my project in the same ways I do."

"So, you are saying that every single investor that you have gotten money from has been as emotionally invested as you are?"

"Well, maybe not as invested, but close." He said, getting a look of skepticism from her. "Okay, maybe not close, but at least half."

"Are you sure that you aren't just avoiding working with him because you're feeling a little jealous?"

"Jealous? Of some thirty year old boy living off his trust fund who knows nothing about investments other than what he has seen in the movies?"

"No, jealous because you think he is interested in me."

"First of all, I don't think he is interested in you, he is interested in you. And second of all, that is not why I don't want to work with him. Like I said before, I just don't want some kid I don't know that doesn't care at all about my production getting involved."

"If you say so." Fran said with a shrug.

"Yeah, I do. Now, if you don't mind, I'm gonna get back to my work here." He said, putting his attention back to the papers in his hands as he tried to play off his obvious lie.

A little over an hour had passed and the family was thoroughly enjoying their day out together. The kids were all still playing in the pool, Maggie joining in with her younger siblings after she got through flirting with the cute lifeguard awhile. Niles was still off on his own, with less money in his pockets than what he had arrived with. Lastly, Fran and Maxwell were still laying in their chaises sunbathing, the both of them casually chatting every once in a while and casting admiring looks at one another whenever they got the chance, Maxwell even more so since she had flipped over to do her backside.

"I need my diving toys" Brighton asked, dripping wet as he walked over to the table and started digging through one of the bags. "Jermey doesn't believe that I can dive for all of them in under thirty seconds."

"Brighton, that's our clothing bag." Fran pointed out as she lifted her head up off the chaise to look up at him. "You're going to get everything soaking wet."

"Well, I don't know what bag they are in."

Maxwell noticed Fran starting to get ready to get up then he spoke to stop her. "I got it, you can keep relaxing." He said, setting his work materials aside and standing up to help his son look for the toys.

"Blue bag." Fran said, noticing him struggling to locate them as well.

"Thank you." He said, grabbing the blue bag and opening it up.

"Fran, come here!" Gracie called out from the pool, waving a hand at her to come over. "I wanna show you my flip." She added, getting a sigh from Fran.

"Guess that's it for my relaxation." Fran said, pushing off the chaise and standing up to go over to her.

"Here, I think this is all of them." Maxwell said, handing the netted bag of diving toys to his son.

"Hey, dad." Brighton whispered, nodding over to where Fran was standing beside the pool complementing Gracie's summersault. "Should we do it?"

Maxwell looked over, eyeing her close proximity to the water. "It looks like she's within three feet, I think we gotta do it." He said, the both of them smirking before quietly walking over by her. While she still had her attention elsewhere, the both of them gave her a quick shove into the pool.

Fran squealed as she hit the water, going underneath for a few seconds before popping back up. She brushed her hair out of her face and quickly turned back to see the two culprits who had pushed her in. "I can't believe you pushed me in!"

"What are you so surprised about?" Maxwell asked. "We followed the three foot rule, didn't we?"

"I guess I can't fault you for that, I did say that was the rule." Fran said, swimming to the side and holding out her hand. "Can you help me back out, please?"

Maxwell walked over beside the pool, smirking down at her. "You can't possibly think I'm daft enough to fall for that trick, do you?"

"No, but I do know that you are just cocky enough to come closer to me to ask that." Fran said, glancing back at Brighton as she moved aside some. "Brighton, now."

Maxwell hardly had time to look back before he himself was shoved into the pool, getting engulfed in the water. He popped back out with a breath of air, slicking his wet hair back. "That's a brave move to make, you were a lot safer with me out of the water." He said, starting to swim toward her.

Fran did a backwards paddle, keeping an eye on him as he got closer and closer to him. When she realized she had no way of escaping, she splashed him as hard as she could and slowed him down. He seemingly took that as a challenge, splashing her back with a bit more power as he kept moving toward her. She kept splashing him back as long as she could, but once she hit the end of the pool she was forced to still and he grabbed her arms to stop her.

"Let go of me or I'll drown you." Fran said, laughing as she tried to get free from him.

"Oh yeah? I'd love to see you try." Maxwell said as she finally slipped her arms out of his grasp.

Fran set her hands on his shoulders and pushed down on them several times, trying to shove him under the water. "Geez, you're like a statue." She said, failing to dunk him.

"Well, not yet, but keep jumping on me like that and I will be soon." He said, smirking as he set his hands on her hips under the water.

"Mister Sheffield." She said in a scolding tone, grinning back at him as she slid her hands down his arms.

"Excuse me." A voice said from near them, the both of them looking up to see the lifeguard standing next to them on the outside of the pool. "I'm sorry to bother you, but we don't allow splashing or rough housing in the pool area."

Maxwell quickly let go of Fran, moving back a little. "Oh, sorry, we didn't mean to cause any trouble."

"No, don't worry about it, this isn't the first time today I've had to break up a water fight." He paused for a moment. "Although, it is the first one between a couple of adults."

"It won't happen again."

"Yeah, sorry." Fran said as the guy walked away, trying to hold back a laugh as she turned back to Maxwell. "We got in trouble."

"You know, I didn't use to get in trouble before you were around."

"There were a lot of things you weren't getting till I was around."

Maxwell raised an eyebrow. "I suppose when you put it like that, a little bit of trouble is more than worth it."

"Why don't we sneak off and make a little more of it?" She said, giving him an alluring look.

"No! We are not fooling around here at the club." He said in a hushed tone.

"I was talking about stealing one of the golf carts and taking it for a joy ride. I think your mind is more trouble than mine, mister." She said, peeking back to make sure the lifeguard wasn't looking before splashing him once more and swimming off to the side of the pool.

Maxwell watched her as she climbed out, smiling lightly to himself as he swam his way over and followed her back to their table. She grabbed a towel and handed it back to him, taking one for herself to dry off. While they were dabbing themselves dry, Niles walked up beside them with a defeated look on his face. "I take it your game didn't go well?" He asked, setting his towel on his shoulders.

"They kicked me out." Niles said, annoyed.

"Wait, how does one get kicked out of a country club poker game?" Fran asked, confused.

"By not having a country club member's income."

"Ah, that will do it." She said, squeezing the ends of her hair with the towel.

"I thought you don't like getting pool water in your hair."

"I don't, but it wasn't really my choice." She said, twisting up her towel and playfully whipping Maxwell with it.

"Hey, do you want me to get the lifeguard back over here?" Maxwell asked.

"He's too busy flirting with your daughter at the moment."

"What?" He asked as he looked over to where his oldest daughter was chatting with him, Fran taking the opportunity to swat him again while he wasn't paying attention.

"Hey, dad." Brighton said, him and Gracie walking over to them all. "The other kids said they are about to screen 'The Sandlot', can we go watch it with them?"

"Yes, that's fine." Maxwell said. "It's in the auditorium?"

"Yeah, the small one. Can we also have some money for popcorn and a drink?"

"Sure." He said, going into his bag and pulling a few bills out of his wallet.

"Oh, can I get a few dollars too?" Maggie asked as she walked up to them. "I'm going to the movie they're playing and I wanna get some snacks."

"You're going too?" Fran asked. "I thought you'd want to stay around the pool area to be near the cute lifeguard."

"He's off work now so he is going to join me." Maggie said, smiling ear to ear as she took cash from her father. "Thanks." She said, hurrying right off.

"Niles, since you are already finished with your game, did you want to go with and keep an eye on them?" Maxwell asked, looking over at him as he handed the other children some money.

"Yes, sir." Niles agreed, not wanting to stay outside anyways.

"Don't you think we're old enough now that we don't need a babysitter at the club?" Brighton mentioned.

"It isn't you I want him to keep an eye on." He said, glancing at his oldest as the lifeguard took her hand and they started heading inside. "Oh, Niles, before I forget to ask again, did you call C.C. and let her know the meeting was cancelled so she wouldn't show up to the house and wait for me in that awful heat?"

"Ah, yeah, I did that." Niles said, setting his hands on the kids shoulders and guiding them away. "Come on, hurry along before we miss the movie."

"Have fun." Fran said, waving at them as they all walked off and left the two of them alone again. "Well, since a couple of rowdy boys decided to push me into the pool, I suppose I should go fix up my makeup. I must look a mess."

"No, absolutely gorgeous as always." Maxwell said, smiling as he admired her.

"Sweet talk all you want, I'm still getting you back for that."

"You already got me pushed into the pool as well and splashed me with more force than a tsunami, haven't I been punished enough yet?"

"I think you still deserve a little more punishment, but you might end up enjoying it." She said, winking at him before she walked off.

Maxwell raised an eyebrow, glancing back to watch her strut away. He smirked to himself, sitting back down on his chaise and grabbing his work papers back out. He flipped to the page he was on and grabbed the pen from between the pages, getting ready to finish the note he was making before. A few words in the ink began to run out and he shook it up a bit, not helping a whole lot as the words came out completely faded. "Dammit." He said, tossing it back down and closing the pages again. He set it aside on the table and stood up, heading inside the club and over to an employee sitting at the counter.

"Hey, can I help you with something?" The man asked.

"Yeah, can I get a pen?" Maxwell asked.

"Of course." He said, grabbing a pen from a drawer and holding it out to him.

"Thank you." Maxwell said, taking it from him and turning to head back to the pool area when a couple voices talking near him caught his attention.

"Hey, check out the smoking hot brunette at the ice cream bar." One of the men said to his friend.

Maxwell knew they could be talking about anyone, but the terms 'smoking hot brunette' and 'ice cream bar' all together made him wonder if they could be talking about Fran. He glanced over to where they were looking off at, his suspicions confirmed as he saw her standing next to the refrigerated display.

"Nice, no ring on the finger either." The friend pointed out. "She's probably here trolling for a rich husband."

"Hmm, well, maybe I should go over there and show her my wallet." He said with a smirk. "Among other things."

Before either of them got a chance to say anything more or make their move, he set the pen down on the counter and walked his way over to Fran. He stepped right up behind her, leaning his face down closer to her ear. "I thought you were going to freshen up." He said, getting her attention.

"I saw an ice cream bar and got a little distracted." Fran said with a chuckle.

Maxwell glanced back towards the guys a second, seeing that they were both still looking her way. "Well, guess you can't fight temptations." He said, setting his hand on her hip and resting his face against her head.

"Aren't you a little too close? We're in public." She asked, glancing back at him as he eyed her chest.

"I'm just trying to get a better look at what toppings they have."

Fran reached a hand up to his chin, tilting his head up a little. "The toppings are over there."

"Sorry, my eyes went to what looked the most appetizing." Maxwell defended, getting closer to her ear as he spoke again in a low tone. "What do you say we forget about the ice cream for now and go take a steam?"

"We can't, I saw that the sauna was out of order."

"Yes, I saw that too."

"Then how do you imagine that we will be able to take a steam?"

"I think if we go in there alone together we could find a way to get the room pretty steamy."

"Mister Sheffield, are you suggesting what I think you are suggesting?" She asked, surprised. "Because I seem to recall you mentioning that we couldn't fool around here."

"When has me saying no ever stopped us in the past?"

"You've got yourself a point there." Fran said, considering it a moment. "Alright, let's go." She said, letting him take her hand as they wandered off together.

Maxwell took one last glance at the men, noticing them look away quickly once they saw him with her. He smirked to himself, glad that they now knew he was the only one showing her anything. The two of them made their way to where the sauna was located. Luckily there wasn't much foot traffic in that area and they waited till a couple people got out of view before they snuck into the room and closed the door behind them. It was pretty dark inside, but they were still able to see each other well enough with the light coming through the parts of the window that weren't covered by the out of order sign.

He turned around to face her, reaching a hand up to her hair and brushing it out of her face before he leaned in and started to kiss her. He slowly walked her backwards till they ran out of room, pinning her body between his and the door. His lips traveled down to her neck, kissing the crevice as she took a deep breath.

"I can't believe we're actually going to do this." Fran said excitedly, running her hands along his bare back.

"What, you've never fooled around in public before?" He asked as he kept kissing her upper body.

"I have, I didn't think you ever would though."

"There's a lot of things you don't know about me, Miss Fine." He said seductively as he looked her in the eyes.

"Well, I guess I am gonna have to do some more thorough research." Fran said, grabbing the back of his neck and pulling him into a passionate kiss. Not wanting to take any more time than necessary given their location, she ran her free hand down his chest and onto the outside of his swim trunks, rubbing him through the damp material. She felt his mouth gap open in pleasure, taking the opportunity to slip her tongue inside and swirl it along the tip of his.

Maxwell didn't need a whole lot of encouragement at this point, but he took a few moments to enjoy the feeling nevertheless before moving her hand around his neck with the other and pulling her against his body. His hands slid between her and the door, roaming to her back end and massaging it.

Fran hummed into his mouth, gripping the ends of his hair with both hands. As she felt his lips start to travel down her face, she tilted her head back to give him better access to her neck. She couldn't believe how euphoric of an experience this was for her, it felt as though her head was up in the clouds. Like she had told him, this wasn't her first time doing this in public, but it normally involved feeling very anxious and made it a bit difficult to get in the mood. This time it was the complete opposite. The only thing she was struggling with right now was the fact that he wasn't moving any faster.

"Mister Sheffield?" Fran said, getting his attention away from where it had currently been residing on her chest.

"Hmm?" Maxwell asked, kissing her jawline a couple times.

"Take off your trunks." She said, sounding much like an order.

"Yes, ma'am." Maxwell said, his hands coming back around to the front of his body. He grabbed at the waistband of his trunks, tugging them down just enough to free himself. He bent his knees to get just a bit lower than her level, taking himself into his hands as he pulled aside the fabric on her bottoms. With a slow pace he entered her, standing up a little straighter as he did so.

Fran moaned from the sensation, moving her hands away from his hair and wrapping her arms around his neck to give herself more height. When she felt him start to move inside her she kissed him hastily, pulling on him as she moved with his body.

After a few minutes at an even pace, Maxwell decided that their height difference wasn't going to work for the speed they were both ready to advance to. He ran his hand down to one of her thighs and clutched it tightly, lifting her leg up to his waist and getting her onto her tippy toe with the other. Now having a bit less restraint, he thrust into her harder and faster. It didn't take long till he felt her body starting to get heavier, having less and less control with every movement. When she started to whimper loudly he kissed her soppily to muffle the sound, holding off his own release until he felt the shivers in her body through his fingertips.

Fran strengthened her hold on him again, giving him some slack to comfortably let the waves of his orgasm ride out. She waited till his movements stilled then loosened up her grasp. At the same time he set her leg back down, lowering his body with her till she was planted back on both feet. Still face to face, she leaned in and left a couple light kisses on his lips.

Maxwell moved his hips away from hers and stood straight, pulling his trunks back up. He reached down and adjusted her swim bottoms, making sure she was fully covered again. He noticed her smile appreciatively at the gesture, still amazing him that such a simple act of chivalry could surprise her. He set a hand on her cheek and rubbed it gently, leaning in to kiss her once more.

"I suppose we should get out of here before anyone finds us." Maxwell suggested.

"It's not like it would matter anymore, they're not gonna catch us in the act." Fran pointed out.

"Still, if they see the two of us in here together, they will know what we were doing."

"Y'know, Mister Sheffield, you were a lot more daring a half an hour ago."

"A half an hour ago I had a reason to be more daring."

"I guess we should get back to the pool anyway so I can finish tanning my backside, otherwise I'm going to have very uneven lines tomorrow."

"Well, it's been a while, so first we're going to have to apply some more sunscreen." He said, smirking as he reached up and played with a strand of her hair.

"I think I will take care of that on my own this time, unless you wanna risk sneaking back in here again." Fran said, turning and moving the paper that was taped to the window to peek outside the room. "Looks like the coast is clear." She said, grabbing his hand as she opened the door and they snuck back out.

They successfully made their way away from the room without being noticed then they headed back out to the pool area, finding their chaises from earlier and taking a seat. Fran grabbed her sunscreen and reapplied it while Maxwell gathered his papers back up.

"Dammit." Maxwell said, holding his empty pen again. "I went to get a new pen because this blasted one is out of ink and I left it on the counter."

"How do you forget a pen you already had a hold of?" Fran asked.

"You get distracted by a sexy woman standing by the ice cream bar in a bathing suit."

"Yeah, that's right, I never got my ice cream either."

"What, I wasn't enough of a treat for you?"

"While you are equally sweet, it certainly didn't help me to cool off any."

"It certainly didn't." He said, smirking like a giddy teenager as he thought about it.

"Be honest, was that the first time you've ever fooled around in public?"

"I've been a member of this club for years, what makes you think it was even the first time on these grounds?"

"Is that why the fees for this place are so high? You're paying for extra amenities."

Maxwell chuckled, shaking his head. "If you must know, no, that was not the first time I've ever done that in public."

"Really? Now I'm intrigued to know where." She said, mildly surprised. "Wait, let me guess, you're counting a hotel as a public place?"

"No, I'm not counting hotels."

"Motel?"

"Do you want me to just tell you where?"

"Yes, please."

"Well, I was about nineteen, maybe twenty, and me and this girl I was seeing at the time decided to rent a rowboat out at Camber Sands, which is this long beach in England that spans about five kilometers. We had planned on rowing out to this great area on the Western end and a buddy of mine had suggested a short cut to get there, which ended up getting us completely lost instead. It was getting late and we were worried about the sun going down, so we settled on docking at this abandoned little area of beach to make camp for the night. We got this fantastic fire set up and snuggled up in front of it, then one thing led to another."

"Oh, come on, fooling around on a dark secluded beach does not count either!"

"It wasn't exactly secluded the whole time. Apparently, I hadn't tied the boat up tight enough and it had drifted off into the waters where a group of fishermen found it, then they noticed the fire off in the distance, put two and two together, then they tied it to their boat and brought it back to us."

"Did they actually catch you two in the act?"

"Luckily, we were just finishing up. But once that spotlight hit us, I got dressed so fast that half the beach ended up in my shorts."

"Okay, I'll give it to you on that one. Fishermen with a spotlight does put that into a public category." She said, laughing at the thought of how flustered he must have gotten.

"I'm glad you find it so amusing, I was utterly humiliated at the time."

"I'm sure you were." Fran said, blowing out a puff of air as she finished snickering. "You know, if the air conditioning is still out tomorrow, we should go and rent a rowboat." She suggested, smirking over at him.

Chapter Text

Fran found herself in a great mood the last few days. They had now reached the point of the year that she liked to think of as the 'sweet spot'. School had just started back up for the children a couple weeks ago and it was still a bit too early for any of their afterschool activities to start, which meant she was blessed with the one thing she didn't always get a lot of, free time.

Most of this free time she had spent catching up on all the things she had been putting off for months now. She got her bedroom organized enough that she didn't have to put out a search party every time she needed to locate something, she got all her favorite fall clothing washed and she finally fixed the shelf in her closet that had collapsed from one too many shopping bags. She felt accomplished to say the least.

There was only one area where she had wished she had gotten to use up more of her idle hours, that was with her boss and nighttime companion. She knew that he was pretty busy with their search for a new investor, that is since everyone they had so far had fallen through and they were now having to put everything on hold. So, instead she made sure not to push when it came to using up his time for her own pleasure, but she was getting a little lonely.

Fran wandered downstairs, already loaded with a fake excuse regarding the children that she could use to justify why she was popping up in his office. As she reached the bottom of the stairs she noticed Maxwell sitting on the couch, his glasses perched on his nose as he read through some novel. It was even better, she wouldn't have to make up a reason to see him now.

"Are my eyes deceiving me here?" Fran asked, walking up behind the couch and getting his attention. "Not only are you out of your office, you are just sitting here leisurely reading?"

"Believe it or not, but I do take some time for myself every once in a while." Maxwell said, smirking as he looked back at his book.

Fran leaned onto the back of the couch, wrapping her arms around him. "Y'know, reading isn't the only activity to take up your time with." She said, starting to rub his chest.

"Miss Fine, we are a little out in the open here." He said, pulling his glasses off and setting them on his book.

"Who is going to catch us? The kids are still at school for a couple more hours and Niles is out running errands."

"Is that why he never came when I kept yelling for him earlier?"

"No, he was still here then." She said, smirking as she started to kiss his neck and nibble at his ear.

Maxwell closed his eyes, reaching a hand up to her face and stroking it. Without even looking he tossed his book onto the living room table before turning his face to her and kissing her back. After a minute he pulled back a little, opening his eyes into hers. "I think there is just a bit too much distance between us."

"How do you reckon we fix that?"

"Like this." He said, grabbing onto her arm and yanking her over the couch as he laid back onto the cushions.

"Mister Sheffield!" She said, laughing as she landed on top of him.

"There, that's much better."

"Indeed." She said, smirking down at him as she set her hands on his chest and propped herself up on her knees. "I gotta say, I really like this position. Makes me feel powerful."

"Just because you are on top of me doesn't mean you have any type of power." He said with a chuckle, reaching up to brush her hair behind her ears.

"Really?" She asked, quickly grabbing onto his wrists and pinning them above him on the armrest of the couch. "How about now?"

"You realize how easily I could get out of this, right?"

"Then why haven't you?"

"I have a gorgeous woman straddling me and pinning me down, why would I want to get out of it?"

"Sounds like a convenient excuse to me."

"Does it?" Maxwell asked, using his strength to get out of her grasp. Before she had a chance to try and grab him again he got a hold of her wrists, gripping them as he swiftly turned them over and pinned her underneath him. "See?"

"I just got a gorgeous man to flip me over and pin me under him, what makes you think that wasn't intentional?" Fran said, smirking devilishly up at him.

"Sounds like a convenient excuse to me." He repeated, smiling back at her.

"Be as cocky as you like, Mister Sheffield. You know damn well that I still have all the control."

"How do you figure that?" He asked, chuckling as she squirmed and he held onto her tighter. "You couldn't move even if you wanted to."

"Oh, yeah? How about this, if you don't let go of me right now, then we're not going to have sex." Fran said, causing him to instantly loosen his grip and prop himself up on his hands. "See?" She repeated, reaching up to start undoing his tie.

"I'm not relinquishing control, I'm just choosing my battles wisely."

"Just shut up and kiss me."

"If you insist." He said as he leaned down and placed a feather light kiss on her lips, pulling back and looking at her. "Will that suffice?"

Fran, feeling that she had enough of their little cat and mouse game, tugged on each end of his undone tie and pulled him down to her. She leaned up and filled the space between them, kissing him eagerly. Just as she was about to deepen in even further he pulled away again, this time only a few inches back. "Okay, fine, you can have the damn control." She said, giving in.

"No, it's not that." Maxwell said, laughing lightly. "You're pulling on my tie a little too tightly."

"Oh, I'm sorry." She said, loosening up on it.

"Don't be sorry, I didn't mind it. I just think it's still far too warm out for a turtleneck sweater and I'm not sure how I would explain the rug burn."

"Well, something to look forward to once it gets cooler out." She said, smirking as she slowly pulled on one side of his tie and let it drop onto the couch.

Maxwell smiled back at her, leaning down onto his elbows and kissing her again. Feeling her tongue graze between his lips, he parted them and let it slip into his mouth. He arched his back momentarily then pressed back onto her, rolling his hips against her and creating a blissful friction. She departed from his lips and let out a sharp breath of air, grabbing onto the back of his neck and pulling him into another kiss as soon as she had her bearings back. He slid his hands underneath her head, running them into her hair and clinging onto it as he started to press hard kisses along her cheek and down to her neck.

Before things had a chance to progress any further, they heard the sound of muffled voices. Maxwell lifted his head and stared down at her, both listening better to determine where it was coming from. They got their answer when they heard the sounds of the front door opening, the both of them freezing in place.

"Are you certain he's home?" A female voice said. The English accent was familiar, the voice however was not. "It's awfully quiet in here."

"He works out of the house, he is always here." That voice they recognised immediately as C.C..

"What do we do?" Fran whispered, getting an unsure shrug from Maxwell.

"Tell me, is he really as attractive as he looks in all the magazines and television interviews?" The unfamiliar voice spoke again.

"Even more so, wait till you see him in person." C.C. replied.

"Is it true that he is still single?"

"Technically, yes. But, you know, we have a little something-something going."

Fran rolled her eyes. "She's acting like she's the one in my position right now." She said, causing him to shush her quietly.

"Maxwell." C.C. called out, trying to get his attention.

"Should we just get up? I think we're caught." Fran asked.

"No, just wait." Maxwell whispered back, shaking his head.

"He's probably in his office." C.C. stated, walking through the living room with the unknown brunette woman following close behind her.

Maxwell and Fran both stared at them as they passed by, neither of them looking in their direction as they headed into the other room.

"Well, I guess it helps that you have two women so preoccupied with going to gawk at you that they don't even bother to look around the room." Fran said.

"Let's not press our luck any longer, we gotta get up before they get back in here." Maxwell said, climbing off the couch and giving her his hand to help her up. Once he let go of her he fixed up his collar, glancing over at her and noticing a smirk across her face. "What are you smiling about?"

"I was just thinking, the fear of almost getting caught, it's a major turn on." Fran said, gleefully.

"That is not a turn on."

"Don't forget who was just lying under you." Fran said, stepping closer to him and tracing a finger along his jawline. "You can't lie to me about it not being a turn on." She told him, leaning in and kissing him softly.

"Miss Fine, stop it." He mumbled between kisses. "They are right in the other room."

"Yes, keep saying stuff like that." She said, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him harder.

Maxwell quickly came to his senses, ducking out of her grasp and moving away from her. "I'm serious, stop it." He said, retreating behind the couch.

"I think you already proved that being on opposite sides of the couch can't keep us apart." Fran said, kneeling onto the couch and coming face to face with him. She could see that he was ready to give in again, but before she had the chance to mess with him more they heard the sound of footsteps heading back into the room and she turned to sit down on the couch.

"There you are." C.C. said, both of the women walking toward them. "Maxwell, I have someone I want you to meet. This is Lynn Peters, she is the investor I was telling you about the other day."

"It's so great to finally meet you! I have been an admirer of your career since the revival of 'Camelot' you put on in that Off West End theatre." Lynn said, holding a hand out to him.

Maxwell's face lit up at the mention of that, reaching out and shaking her hand. "That was one of my first productions, hardly anyone saw that."

"Well, I saw it four times, and I would have seen it a fifth had I not taken ill during the last week it was running. You could see your talents from the very beginning."

It didn't go unnoticed to Fran that she still hadn't let go of his hand, or that the schoolgirl grin hadn't left her face since she locked eyes with him. She took the brief pause in their conversation to stand up, holding her own hand out to the woman. "I'm Fran Fine. Miss Peters, was it?"

"Yes." Lynn said, finally letting go of his hand and shaking hands with Fran. "I take it you are one of the actresses in the play?" She asked as she let go of her hand, making both Maxwell and C.C. laugh.

"Don't find that so funny, it might come off as offensive." Fran said, squinting her eyes over at him.

"Sorry." Maxwell said, clearing his throat as he stopped. "No, this is my nanny."

"Oh, that's right, you have children." Lynn said, smiling back over at him. "I bet they are all gonna be a bunch of heartbreakers if they take after their father."

"Unfortunately, my oldest daughter has already begun her heartbreaking phase."

"I would love to meet them if I'm still here when they get home from their schooling."

"Of course, they should be back in an hour or so." Maxwell said, glancing at his watch. "In the meantime, why don't I get us all some refreshments."

"Oh, don't worry about that." C.C. offered. "You two sit, talk business, pleasure, whatever. I can get the refreshments."

Maxwell squinted over at her. "Do you even know where anything is?"

"Absolutely."

"Niles isn't here." He said, causing her to pause.

"Nanny Fine can help me." C.C. suggested, gesturing to the couch. "Come on, have a seat." She said, Lynn taking a seat first.

Fran watched closely as Maxwell walked back around the couch and sat down next to her, crossing his legs as he set an arm on the back end of the couch. She smiled over at him yet again, scooting even closer.

"Oh, what's this?" Lynn said, pulling his tie from underneath her.

"Oh, that's my tie. I was sitting here reading earlier and it was bugging me." Maxwell said, taking it from her and getting ready to put it on.

"You can leave it off, no use getting all fancied up for me. I quite like the casual look anyways." She said, winking over at him.

"Nanny Fine?" C.C. said, getting her attention. "You were going to help me, remember?"

"Ah, yeah." Fran said, keeping an eye on them as she slowly followed her out of the room and to the kitchen.

"Alright, where does Dustbuster store the good glasses?" C.C. said, starting to look through the cabinets.

"China hutch." Fran said, pointing at the cabinets next to the fridge.

"Perfect." She said as she walked over to it, opening the glass door and grabbing out some cups.

"Isn't it as obvious to you as it is to me that she is practically throwing herself at Mister Sheffield?"

"Are you kidding me?" C.C. said, walking over to the island and setting the glasses on a tray. "Do you think I wouldn't notice my own tactics?"

"Then why isn't this bothering you?" Fran asked as she went into the fridge and pulled out a few bottles of the expensive water. "Normally at this point your eye would be twitching and you'd be finding any excuse to shove her out of the house." She said, walking toward her and setting the bottles on the tray.

"She comes from a family with pockets deeper than the Pacific Ocean. Her investments could not only fund this production, but every one we do for the rest of our lives and then some. I wouldn't care if she signed the check on his bare chest if that was what it took to make this deal happen."

"Well just because you don't mind her throwing herself at him to close your deal, doesn't mean that Mister Sheffield is going to feel the same way about it."

"Maxwell is going to feel exactly the same as I do. He knows what it takes to get these investors. How do you think we got so much funding in the first place? Well, besides from my charming personality." She said, grinning devilishly.

"Oh, god." Fran said, thinking about it for a moment. "We gotta get back out there." She said, grabbing the tray and hurriedly heading back into the living room.

The first thing she noticed as they got back into the room was the way that Lynn's hand was casually set on Maxwell's knee while she laughed, no doubt something he had said that she was going out of her way to let him know she found funny.

Fran headed over to the end table beside them, setting the tray down harder than usual and making the woman jump a little at the noise and remove her hand. "Oh, sorry, I was starting to lose my grip."

"Strange, your grip seemed just fine earlier." Maxwell said, eyeing her suspiciously.

"Well, y'know how things seem just fine one minute and then the next," Fran paused, aggressively opening the water bottle. "Not so much." She said, pouring the water into a glass and holding it out to Lynn. "Here you go Miss Peters, a nice cold beverage to cool you down."

"Thank you." Lynn said, grabbing the glass of water from her and taking a quick sip before setting it on the coffee table.

The next few hours went by painfully slow. Fran hadn't expected one investor's visit to turn into an all day event, but she had managed to milk this meeting for everything it was worth. Not that C.C. or even Maxwell seemed to mind, the both of them eager to please her.

Fran had given up on getting in a word edgewise. Maxwell had hardly even looked at her since that woman arrived, much less spoken to her. Their conversation started with talk of musicals, then a brief intermission to meet the children, then back into talking about them again till supper time, and now they had shifted gears to their favorite places in London.

"You know, twenty years in the city and I have yet to find a place that does a fry-up like they do back in England." Maxwell said, sitting comfortably back on the couch again beside Lynn.

"You just need to know the right places to look." Lynn said, shoving him playfully. "There is a little cafe in the village that does an English breakfast so good you would think they plucked it right out of Kensington."

"Really? I don't think I've been."

"It's phenomenal. You can accompany me there one morning."

"Absolutely."

"It's a date then." She said as she grinned over at him, making Fran roll her eyes.

"Maybe the two of you could meet there tomorrow morning to continue discussing our latest production." C.C. suggested. "I think you are going to find that it would be a great investment."

"I certainly won't turn down the invitation to join you, but I have already made my decision about investing."

"You have?" Maxwell asked, the both of them waiting eagerly for her response.

"Yes, I think that they play is wonderful and you have done such a brilliant job pulling it all together. I would love to be a part of it."

"That's fantastic!" He said, excitedly taking her hand and shaking it. "We are very grateful that you want to get involved."

"She wants to get involved, all right." Fran said under her breath.

Maxwell glanced over at her, curiously. "What was that, Miss Fine?"

"I said she wants to get involved, alright!" She said again with a much more upbeat tone, watching as he kept an eye on her a little longer before looking back to Lynn.

"Well, this calls for a celebration. How do you feel about popping open a bottle of champagne and toasting to the start of our new business endeavor?"

"That sounds marvelous." Lynn said happily.

"C.C., why don't you grab a contract from the office for Miss Peter's to look over while we get the drinks started." Maxwell suggested, looking to his partner.

"On it!" C.C. said, practically skipping out of the room to go get it.

"And Miss Fine." He said, looking back at her. "Do you mind going down to the cellar and fetching a bottle of Perrier-Jouet?"

"Isn't that what you have a butler for?" Fran snarked.

"I'd much prefer for you to go and find it, please."

"Fine." Fran said, getting up off the chair and resisting the urge to glare at him as he watched her leave the room. Surely he wanted to make sure she was out of sight before he started thanking her again, maybe this time with more than a handshake.

Fran turned into the hall and headed down the back stairs to the cellar, opening the door and going inside. It was now her mission to find that bottle as quickly as possible, not wanting to leave the two of them alone together any longer than needed.

Unfortunately, finding the damn thing was proving to be an impossible task. She had looked over every single bottle at least twice and could not find anything remotely close to the brand he had told her. She started to wonder if the bottle even existed or if he had just sent her down here on a wild goose chase so he could butter up his new investor without her prying eyes.

Upstairs the three of them had already started going over the contract C.C. had gathered, Lynn looking it over thoroughly. While she started reading through a paragraph quietly, Maxwell took a look at his watch.

"I think Miss Fine must be having trouble finding the champagne, I'm going to go check on her and you two feel free to keep talking logistics." He said, standing to his feet.

"Okay, don't take too long." Lynn said, smiling up at him.

"I won't." Maxwell said, moving past them and finding his way down to the cellar. When he opened up the door he saw Fran crouched down in front of one of the shelves, pulling out a bottle and looking it over. "Still looking?" He asked, getting her attention as he closed the door behind him.

Fran glanced back at him, shoving the bottle back into the slot as she stood back up and turned to him. "I have looked at every bottle and there is not a Perrier-Jouet anywhere in here."

"Yes, because I never buy that kind." He said, smirking as he walked toward her.

"Great, so I was right." Fran said, shaking her head. "This was just a ploy to get rid of me so you could have alone time with the sexy brunette?"

"Alone time with a sexy brunette? Yes." Maxwell said, setting his hands on her hips. "Get rid of you? Not a chance." He said, dipping down and crashing into her lips.

Fran wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling at the ends of his hair as she kissed him back till they both ran out of air. "What was that for?" She asked as they pulled back a little.

"I was lying earlier, almost getting caught was a major turn on." He admitted, walking her backwards and pinning her against the wall as he kissed her again. His lips traveled down to her neck as he started unbuttoning her blouse.

"Mister Sheffield, right here in the wine cellar?"

Maxwell stopped kissing her neck and looked back up at her. "Well, it is a soundproof room."

"Oh, yeah." Fran said, remembering back to the time she was trapped in the room with C.C.. "Remind me again, why haven't we snuck down here before?" She said, reaching up and shoving his jacket off his shoulders before they went back to kissing.

In the living room the two women continued going over the contract together, Lynn stopping when she came across a paragraph she didn't favor.

"So, I won't have any involvement in the creative aspects of the production?" Lynn asked, not seeming too thrilled about that.

"This is just a standard contract that we use for most of our investors, but given the amount of funds you are committing, we can use one with a clause that offers some creative input."

"Yes, let's go with one of those. I'm not looking to change anything major, but I would love to be a part of the process."

"I don't think I have any of those contracts on hand, if you don't mind sitting here by yourself for a few minutes I can get one printed up." C.C. said, standing up.

"I don't mind, but I was actually thinking I'd go find Maxwell." Lynn said, standing up as well. "I want to let him know that he doesn't have to go to all this trouble to find some fancy champagne. I'm not the spoiled little rich girl I might come off as, I'll drink any ol' thing."

"Sure, you just want to go right down that hallway to the staircase, then follow them down to a big steel door and you'll be at the cellar." C.C. explained, pointing to the area to go.

Down in the cellar things had heated up even more, the both of them already having tossed their shirts aside. Fran was now left with a bra clad chest and a short skirt and Maxwell in only a pair of slacks. Their kisses had become rougher and their hands roamed each other's bare skin.

While Fran was running her fingertips up the outer sides of his forearms, he moved back then grabbed onto her wrists and pinned them against the wall.

"Are we playing this game again?" Fran asked, smirking at him as he slid his hands up and intertwined his fingers with hers.

"Well, I rather enjoyed it."

"That's becoming clear to me." She said, leaning forward and kissing down from his neck and all across his upper chest. Once she knew he was distracted she did a quick shift and turned them around, pinning him against the wall in the same way she had been.

Maxwell smiled down at her, his hands unclasping from hers and slowly gliding along her arms and to her neck. Just as he got ready to lean into her again, he caught sight that the cellar door was open and Lynn standing there frozen as she stared at the both of them.

"Miss Peters." Maxwell said, his hands dropping.

"You realize this is the single worst time to call me by another woman's name, right?" Fran said, ready to get upset with him when she saw him staring behind her and turned around. "Miss Peters." She said, finally catching sight of her.

"I am so sorry, I didn't realize, I didn't know, I'm sorry." Lynn said, turning her head off to the side so she wasn't looking directly at them.

Maxwell quickly grabbed his jacket off the ground, wrapping it around Fran before he grabbed his dress shirt and put it on himself. "No, no need to apologize, we should probably be the ones apologizing to you." He said as he buttoned up his shirt and tucked it back in.

"No, this is your house and I wouldn't have wandered in here if I had known that you two were together. C.C. told me that you weren't involved with anyone."

"Miss Babcock doesn't know that there is anything going on between us, no one does." Fran explained then on cue C.C. appeared in the doorway next to Lynn. "Well, till now."

"I managed to find a copy, so I didn't need to print a new one up." C.C. said, showing it off to Lynn before she looked over at Fran and Maxwell. She squinted her eyes, taking in their appearances and her blouse on the floor. "Maxwell, why is Nanny Fine wearing your jacket?"

"Uhm, well, funny story," Maxwell started, fumbling on his words.

"It's all my fault actually." Lynn said, cutting in. "I was standing here talking to them about the champagne and that bottle of forty-seven Ruchottes-Chambertin on the top shelf caught my attention. Miss Fine kindly offered to get it down for us then her blouse got caught on a loose nail and torn. Luckily Mister Sheffield came to the rescue and offered his coat."

"Oh, thank god." C.C. said, relieved. "For a second there it looked like something entirely different was going on in here."

"Could you imagine?" Fran said, nervously chuckling.

"No, and I wouldn't want to."

"Well, ah, why don't I get the wine down this time and then we can all get back upstairs." Maxwell suggested, all of them nodding in agreement.

As he grabbed down the bottle of wine that she had mentioned Fran quickly picked back up her blouse then looked over and waited for C.C. to turn around. Once she did, she mouthed 'thank you' to Lynn then she waved a hand at her in response.

The four of them headed back upstairs and out into the living room again, this time Lynn sat further away from Maxwell on the couch. C.C. walked over and got ready to hand her the new contract, but she didn't take it from her.

"I'm sorry, I've actually decided I don't want to sign this contract." Lynn said, all of their hopes ready to fall as she spoke again. "The first contract you showed me should be suitable enough. I have started to think that I don't need to be as involved as I had originally intended to, I'd probably just be getting in the way." She added, looking over to Fran and Maxwell with a small smile.

"Of course, whatever you would like." C.C. said, grabbing the original contract she had shown her and setting it onto the coffee table.

Lynn took out a pen from her purse and flipped to the last page of the contract, signing it and closing it back up. "There you go. And I will have my assistant get that cashier's check over to you tomorrow morning." She said, standing back up.

"Didn't you want to stay for a celebratory drink?" Maxwell asked, looking up at her.

"No, I think I have taken up enough of your time already today."

Maxwell stood to his feet, shaking her hand. "Okay, well, thank you so much for everything." He said as he let go of her hand and grabbed the bottle of wine off the table, holding it out to her. "And here, as a small token of our gratitude."

"Thank you." Lynn said, taking it from him with a smile. "It was great meeting you both and I hope you have a good night." She said, all of them saying their goodbyes before her and C.C. left.

Fran waited till the front door closed then looked back at Maxwell, exhaling. "Okay, so, actually getting caught isn't as enjoyable as almost getting caught."

"You're telling me." Maxwell said, setting a hand on his chest. "I was about ready to start hyperventilating when I saw Miss Peters standing at the cellar door."

"I know. It was so nice of her to cover for us though. I tell ya, you Brits sure have some good manners."

"I think if our manners were as good as you say they are, then we wouldn't have been in that situation to begin with."

"That's just because you've been living with me too long. You're practically part Jewish now, and we don't have any manners." She said, smirking at him.

Maxwell smiled back at her, picking up the contract off the table. "Well, I'm gonna get this filed in my office before anything happens to it."

"And I should probably go upstairs and change back into my own shirt so you can have the rest of your suit back." Fran said, the both of them heading off in different directions.

As she got a few steps up the staircase she heard a light knock at the front door then she stopped and walked back downstairs. She opened up the door, seeing Lynn standing in the doorway.

"Sorry to bother you again, I told Miss Babcock that I forgot my pen in here-"

"Oh, I can get it for you." Fran said, ready to turn around when she spoke again and stopped her.

"No, I didn't actually come back for the pen, that was just an excuse." Lynn corrected with a small chuckle. "I just wanted to come back here and tell you how sorry I am."

"Miss Peters, like Mister Sheffield said, there is no reason whatsoever for you to apologize."

"Not for that, though I am still sorry. I want to apologize because of how I acted today. If I had known that there was anything going on between the two of you I would never have blatantly come on to him like that, right in front of you no less."

"Hey, you didn't know, so there is no need to apologize for that either. Besides, one evening of some innocent flirting is child's play next to all the comments Miss Babcock makes toward him on a daily basis."

"Oh, good, I would have spent the rest of the night feeling dreadful if I didn't at least come back to explain."

"I'm glad you were able to clear your conscience. Now don't worry about it another second, you have already more than made up for it by covering for us."

"I felt I had to. Over the years I've always heard about what a great guy Maxwell was and today I got to see that myself. He deserves to have someone like you to make him happy."

"Well, I don't know about happy." Fran said with a chuckle. "Annoyed, frustrated, ready to put his head through a wall, those emotions all come to mind."

"No, I saw the way he was looking at you earlier, that was sheer happiness. More than any talk about favorite plays or old haunts in England could bring him." Lynn said, making her light up. "I should be off now, it was lovely meeting you, Miss Fine."

"You too, Miss Peters." Fran said, the both of them saying a quick goodbye before Lynn headed off again and she shut the door. She turned around and got ready to head upstairs again when she stopped, setting her hand on the railing as she looked off toward where Maxwell was walking back into the room.

"Miss Fine, I thought you were going to change." Maxwell said, walking over to her.

"I was about to, but then I started to think how we never did get that Perrier-Jouet that we wanted earlier."

"I already told you that we never buy that kind of champagne, it was just an excuse to get you down into the cellar with me."

Fran stared back at him with a knowing look, running a hand across his chest as she passed him and started walking toward the hallway. Maxwell raised an eyebrow as he caught on, turning and hurrying to follow behind her.

Chapter Text

Everything was finally in full swing and their fairly relaxing fall time had come to its end. Since the investment for Maxwell's play had come through they launched straight into rehearsals, leaving him out of the house most days of the week. On the rare occasion that he made it home, Fran was already occupied with running the kids to their after school activities or weekend outings. Any stolen moment they managed to find together was quickly interrupted and come nighttime the two of them hardly had it in them to make it up to bed to sleep, much less anything else.

Five weeks. It had been five weeks since they had any real alone time together. They rarely even went five days without hooking up since they agreed to give in to their attraction to each other, let alone this long. It was safe to say that the two of them were starting to unravel.

Maxwell shifted in his bed, trying to stretch a little while his tired eyes remained pinched shut to avoid the cracks of sunlight coming through his curtain. He quickly found himself unable to move much, the weight and warmth of the body next to him keeping him in place. He squinted his eyes open and noticed the strands of black wavy hair laying on top of his bare chest, looking over to see Fran wrapped up in his arms.

Was he dreaming? He thought to himself for a moment, his half asleep mind trying to make sense of how she had gotten there in the first place. The last few weeks she had entered quite a few of his dreams, of course, they weren't just sleeping in those. That's when he remembered the night before, when he got home from the theater after having a dreadfully long day and came across her lying in his bed fast asleep.

He knew exactly how she ended up curled up in his bed sheets, her attire leaving no doubts in his mind. On her body she wore only his black shirt, the same one she had taken ownership of months back. Not to mention the way she had been looking at him the past few weeks, the same way he had been looking at her. It was no lie that they both wanted each other desperately. He had half a mind to cancel the play and free up his time so he could give her the attention they both needed right now, but that was probably just his hormones talking.

Maxwell scooted over a couple inches and turned to his side, leaving his arm under her as he leaned down and placed a feather light kiss on her lips. He heard as she let out a soft hum from the contact, blinking her eyes open to look up at him.

"Good morning." Maxwell said, grinning down at her.

"If I had an alarm clock that got me up this perfectly every morning I wouldn't mind being woken up." Fran said as she smiled softly up at him. "I must have fallen asleep waiting for you last night. Why didn't you wake me up when you got here?"

"You looked so peaceful, I just couldn't bring myself to wake you. Besides, I was pretty exhausted myself and I knew if I woke you up neither of us were going to get any sleep."

"That's a sacrifice I'd be willing to make at this point." She said as she reached up to trace her fingertips along his cheek and caused his eyes to flutter shut for a moment.

"I can't believe how long it's been since I've had you in my arms like this. All I've been able to think about is being alone with you again."

"Well, we are alone now."

"It seems we are." Maxwell said, sucking on his bottom lip as he nodded. He stared back at her a moment, both of them starting to gravitate toward each other. They met in the middle with a slow, tender kiss. He shifted to lay on top of her, setting an elbow on the bed as the other went to her hip while he started trailing kisses down her neck.

"God, I'm so glad we are finally doing this." Fran said, breathlessly. She set a hand on his face and turned him back to her, pulling him toward her and kissing his lips again. She took the opportunity while his mouth was open to slip her tongue inside, grazing the roof of it. While she took time to explore his mouth further, her hands went to his lower back to apply pressure and press their bodies together harder.

Maxwell moaned quietly into her mouth, his need for her growing even stronger. He let the hand on her hip slip under her shirt, running it up her bare skin till he reached her chest. His hand went to her breast, kneading it roughly.

Fran broke away from his lips with a gasp, setting her chin onto his shoulder while he started attacking her neck again. "Mister Sheffield." She whispered into his ear.

"Hmmm?" He asked, his voice vibrating her skin as he continued kissing her.

"I need you," Fran paused, gaping her mouth open while he pressed his lower half against her again. "Now." She added, grabbing both sides of his face and stopping the slow torture she was currently experiencing.

Maxwell understood completely, not wanting to wait any longer either. He sat up with a knee on each side of her, both his hands going to her upper arms to pull her up with him. He slid them back down to the ends of her shirt, leaning in and kissing her forcefully as he started to pull it up.

Before he had a chance to get it off, there was a knock at the door and they both pulled apart. Both of them stared back at each other in shock, forgetting that anyone else had even existed up until that moment.

"Yeah?" Maxwell got out, his voice shaky.

"Dad, are you awake?" Maggie's voice called out.

"Ah, yeah, I'm awake." He paused. "Do you need something?"

"Niles wanted me to check with you to see if you are planning on coming down for breakfast? It's just about done."

"Breakfast?" He whispered, looking over at the clock that read after seven. "That's the time?"

"Dad?" Maggie called out again when he hadn't answered.

"Yes, I'm just getting dressed." Maxwell said, pulling Fran's shirt back down as he started climbing off her. "I'll be down in a few minutes. Thank you for letting me know." He said, getting off the bed.

"What are you doing?" Fran asked, looking at him confused. "We were kind of in the middle of something here."

"I must have forgotten to set my alarm when I got home." He said, going over to his dresser and pulling out a few articles of clothing. "I didn't realize how late it was."

Fran stood up, going over to him and taking the clothes from his hands, setting them on the chair. "She didn't say breakfast was already ready, she said it was almost ready. If we don't get fully dressed, we have a few minutes to kill." She said, running her hands up and down his arms.

"You're forgetting I don't go down to breakfast in a robe and slippers."

"You could start." She suggested as she moved closer to his ear and started nibbling on the lobe.

Maxwell let his eyes drift shut, humming softly as she started kissing his neck. "Miss Fine, no." He said, quickly coming to his senses and moving back. "I'm supposed to be at the theater today for more rehearsals."

"Can't you be a little late?" She asked, pecking him on the lips.

"No, unfortunately I can't." He said, resting his forehead on hers. "I wish I could, god, I can't tell you how badly I wish I could, but if I want any chance at having a day off tomorrow, I have to be out of the house within the hour."

"Okay, if you have to go, you have to go." Fran said as she walked over and grabbed her robe, putting it on.

"Do you have anything planned for tomorrow or are you going to be free too?" Maxwell asked, starting to get dressed.

"I work tomorrow, for you, remember?"

"Oh, yeah." He said, his mind not at full working capacity given the hour and the thoughts that were still racing through his head about the woman he was currently talking to. "The kids have a lot going on?"

"Maggie wants me to take her to get her haircut, Brighton needs me to pick him up some new highlighters because he wore his all out trying to color his teeth, which reminds me he also needs some more tums. Gracie wants to stop by Maddison's to pick up a book she borrowed her. And then it will be lunchtime."

"I take it this is your way of saying they have a lot going on?" He said, getting a nod in response. "Well, if you do happen to get some free time tomorrow, maybe we could give this another try."

"I don't know." Fran said with a shrug. "Even if I find the time, I'm not really sure I'm going to be in the mood."

"It's been over a month and you don't think you are going to be in the mood?"

"Never know, sometimes the longer you are without something, the less you tend to crave it."

Maxwell caught on to the fact that she was now toying with him, deciding two could play at this game. Without saying a word, he finished buttoning his shirt and threw on his coat before walking over to her. He grabbed a hold of her hair and pulled her head back, leaning down and giving her a long lingering kiss. When he pulled back he heard her take a deep breath, smirking to himself. "You're right, I might not be in the mood tomorrow either. I guess we'll just have to play it by ear." He teased, leaving her speechless as he walked away and headed out of the room.

The next day couldn't have come slower, their little unfinished morning escapade making twenty-four hours feel longer than the whole five weeks. They weren't even sure if they would be able to find the time to be alone together today, but they both had unofficially decided that even if it meant no sleep, they would find a way to make it happen.

It didn't make it any easier that the kids decided they wanted to hang out at home after they went out to lunch. Leaving the two of them in the same vicinity, close enough to touch if it wasn't for all the prying eyes around them.

While the kids were engaged in an intense game of 'Risk', Fran managed to slip away after making an excuse about needing to talk to their father about something. Talk wasn't necessarily what she had in mind, but they didn't need to know that. She went looking for him in the one place she figured he would be, his office. Walking inside she saw him laying across his couch, a script on his legs and his pen in hand.

"I thought this was your day off, why are you in here working?" Fran asked, closing the door behind her.

"I figured I should get a few things in order for tomorrow's rehearsals." Maxwell replied, pulling his glasses off and setting them on the scripts. "Besides, it felt a lot safer for me in here than out there with you."

"What? Worried I wouldn't keep my hands to myself if you were near me?"

"Quite the opposite actually, I was worried I wouldn't."

"Hmm, and now that we are all by ourselves in here, are you still worried?" She asked as she went over and sat next to his legs on the couch, rubbing them with her hand.

"I guess that depends."

"On?"

"On how long you're going to keep rubbing my leg like that."

"I don't have to stop at the leg." She said, winking at him.

Maxwell set his stuff aside on the couch as he sat up, setting a hand on her face and leaning in to kiss her. He could tell by the delay in the way she kissed him back that she hadn't expected him to initiate anything, but he was in no playing mood today. He wanted her and he wanted her as soon as he could get her.

After a couple seconds of surprise Fran started to kiss him back, not having the power to tease him right now. The last time she remembered wanting him this badly was after the first time they were together, the day when they gave in and fooled around right in this very room. Of course no one was home then, but neither of them seemed to care about that at the moment. Their minds were on one thing and one thing alone.

That was until there was a hard knock at the door and it began to open. They quickly split apart and Maxwell grabbed his script, placing it in his lap as he looked over to see the same distraction from yesterday morning walking into the room.

"Hey, Tess Shaffer is on the phone and she said she's bringing Benny and Isabella to that new movie where the toys come to life. She wants to know if Gracie and Brighton wanted to go along and catch a bite to eat beforehand?" Maggie asked, holding her hand over the phone as she spoke to them.

"Right now?" Fran asked, not wanting to leave the comfort of this couch and the man sprawled out on it.

"Well, no, dinnertime, so like an hour from now."

"An hour." She said, smirking back at Maxwell. "You can tell her that's fine."

"Okay, will do." Maggie said, lifting the phone to her face and telling the woman they would join them before hanging up. "If you're done talking to daddy, Gracie wants you to play 'Guess Who?' with her."

"I thought you guys were already playing a game?"

"We were, but then Brighton got mad that she kept taking over all the continents and said he doesn't want to play with her anymore."

"I'll be right out." Fran said, waiting till she was out of the room before she turned back to Maxwell with a look of disappointment.

"Tonight then?" He asked, giving up on the idea of them getting any time together before then.

"Tonight." She agreed, giving him a quick kiss before leaving.

Fran sat on the living room floor, her back propped up against the couch as they played a sixth round of the board game with the youngest girl. She tried her best to put on a happy front for the children, but she had a feeling that pretense was failing. She felt miserable and it no doubt showed.

"Do they have a cleft chin?" Fran asked, looking over the characters she had left on her board.

"What's a cleft chin?" Gracie asked, confused.

"It's a butt chin." Maggie explained from where she sat reading in the chair, pinching the skin on her chin together. "Like this."

"Ohhh, no they don't." She answered.

Fran flicked down all but one character, exhaling at the name on the one left. "Is it Max?"

"Yes!" Gracie said excitedly.

"Of course it is." Fran said under her breath, not even being able to play a simple board game to take her mind off of him.

"You wanna play again?"

"No, sweetie, we gotta start getting ready to meet Isabella and Benny at the restaurant."

"Oh, yeah, I'm gonna go get your big purse so we can fill it with the free popcorn at the restaurant and sneak it into the movie." She said, hopping up and running upstairs.

"I know your father likes when you kids make good grades and take part in activities, but it's moments like this that make me really proud." Fran said as she got up off the floor.

Maggie grinned, glancing over at her while she started cleaning up the game pieces. "Fran, are you alright?" She asked, having noticed she wasn't as chipper as usual.

"Yeah, of course, why?"

"You just seem a little restless lately."

"I guess I am kind of restless, but I'm okay."

"Really?"

"Yeah." She said, putting on a fake smile to try and assure her.

"You know, Kendra is going to be here in a few minutes to hang out and we hadn't decided what we were going to do today. We could go with them and help keep an eye on the kids so you can stay home and rest."

"I'm not going to make two teenage girls go see a kids film so I can get some-" She paused, rethinking her words. "Some rest."

"Well, we can just join them at the restaurant and go over to the theater together, then we can go see that Matt Dillon movie."

"If you really want to." Fran said, liking the idea of a kid free house right now.

"I do. I know we've been keeping you really busy lately and you deserve some time to yourself."

'To myself, with your father, same difference' Fran thought to herself, smiling lightly. "Thank you."

"I'm gonna go get ready before everyone starts getting here." Maggie said, getting up from her chair.

"If you need it I have another big bag hanging on the door in my closet."

"No, I'm okay, I'll just use daddy's charge card."

"Stop it, you guys are going to bring a tear to my eye." She said, beaming with pride as she wandered off.

Just a little while later Fran had seen the kids off, watching out the window of the front door till the vehicle drove out of sight to make sure they all made it out of the house before she went looking for Maxwell to tell him the good news. Once she was sure they were long gone she turned around quickly, ready to take off to go find him when she walked straight into him.

"Hey, where's the fire?" Maxwell asked, setting his hand on her upper arms to steady her.

"I think you know exactly where it is." Fran said, getting an eyebrow raise from him.

"I, ah, I thought I heard the kids leaving." He said, glancing behind her and out the window. "What are you still doing here?"

"They all just left. Maggie noticed how restless I was and offered to go so I could get some 'rest'." She said, over pronouncing the word.

"Rest?"

"Ah ha."

"So you're heading up to bed then?"

"Yup." She said, smirking at him.

"You know what, come to think of it, I'm awfully tired." He said, stretching as he faked a yawn. "I think I might just head up to bed myself."

"Race you up there?" Fran asked, the both of them turning to go upstairs when Niles walked into the room.

"Dinner is ready." Niles stated.

"Dinner?" Maxwell asked.

"Yes, sir, it's the meal between lunch and breakfast."

"And it's already done?"

"Yes, dinner being ready usually means that it is done." Niles said, watching the both of them share a look. "Miss Fine, will you be joining?"

"I might as well." Fran said, accepting that their little get together was going to have to be postponed yet again.

They walked back down the few stairs they had already gone up and followed behind Niles to the dining room, taking a seat in their usual places. The room was abnormally quiet throughout supper, the only sounds were from Niles wandering around the room and from their utensils clunking onto their plates. Their minds however, were far from quiet.

With every stolen glance in that silent room they could hear the other's inner thoughts, thoughts that were no different than the ones in their own head. Thoughts of how badly they wished they were alone, how they were mere inches away but they couldn't feel one another's touch and what they wouldn't give to just push everything right off the side of this dining room table and throw each other down on it right now.

The sound of the phone ringing in the other room snapped them out of their trance, Niles letting them know he would answer it before leaving the room. Without one second wasted, Maxwell scooted his chair closer to Fran.

"Have I told you today how stunning you look in that outfit?" He said, tracing his fingertips down the bare skin on her arm as he looked her over.

"You like?" Fran asked with a seductive grin, leaning in closer to him.

"I like it a lot. If I didn't know any better, I'd think you were wearing it as a form a torture."

"Well, I do enjoy hearing you beg."

Maxwell raised his eyebrows, ready to close the gap between them when they heard Niles walking back into the room and returned to the places he had left them in.

"That was Miss Margaret." Niles announced as he came back into the dining room. "They finished supper and they are about to head into the movie, she said they should be home around seven-thirty."

"Thank you." Maxwell said, taking a quick look at his watch. Little over an hour and a half, not a whole lot of time left if things kept going the way they had been. Maybe they weren't alone yet, but he could certainly get a jump start on things. He glanced over at Fran, kicking off one of his shoes under the table. Watching her as he moved his foot over and rubbed it softly against her leg.

Fran's eyes shot over to him, sharing a look of mischievousness with him. She felt him pull his foot away then watched him smirk as he picked up his wine glass to take a sip. If he thought he was the only one to play this game, he was about to find out how dead wrong he was. Mimicking him she kicked off her own shoe, grazing her foot up the inside of his leg. Only she didn't stop at the knee, continuing to run it up even further.

The sudden feeling once she reached his lap caused him to startle, clinging his wine glass into his plate loudly as he set it down and making Niles glance over at him.

"Everything all right, sir?" Niles asked, eyeing him curiously.

"Yes." Maxwell said, clearing his throat. "I just miscalculated the landing." He said, glaring over at her as she pulled away with a proud grin.

"Shall I clear your plates now?" He asked, ready to reach for them.

"Ah, no." Maxwell said, stopping him. "I actually just remembered, we ran out of coffee at the theater yesterday and I offered to pick it up on my way home, but it must have slipped my mind and we are going to need it tomorrow. Could you run into town and pick up a few canisters? Miss Fine and I can clean up the plates."

Niles nodded suspiciously, not at all buying into this spur of the moment remembrance or that fact that he would offer to pick it up in the first place. But who was he to turn down a chance to get out of cleaning up dinner. "Yes, I'll head over and get them now." He said, pulling the apron of his waist and setting it aside before he left the room.

While Fran wiped her face with her napkin then stood up, Maxwell stayed put and listened till he heard the sound of the back door close. Once he did he got up himself, walking behind her as she started to pick up her dinnerware. Before she had a chance to do anything else he reached up to her hair, moving aside the strands of it and kissing her neck as he pressed his body against her backside.

"Oh, so this is why you needed Niles to make a sudden coffee run?" Fran said, setting her plate and cup back down on the table.

"Mhmmm." He hummed against her skin, his hands gripping her hips and pulling her lower half onto him intermittently.

Fran moaned softly, her eyes drifting shut as his mouth traveled along her collarbone. "While I do enjoy this plan, very much, don't you think Niles will be curious why none of the dishes are clean when he gets back?"

"I haven't been alone with you in five weeks, we'll have time to clean them after." He said, his lips only leaving her long enough to speak.

"Hmm, just what every woman wants to hear."

Maxwell turned his head, his lips touching her ear. "Don't worry, you won't be disappointed." He whispered, his right hand sliding around to her stomach. He applied a good amount of pressure as he slowly ran it down her pelvis and into the top of her skirt, rubbing his fingers against her clit.

"Mister Sheffield." Fran moaned out. "Right here in the dining room?"

"It's a big house, if we have to go all the way upstairs it's gonna cut into our time to do this." He said as his hand traveled down further, slipping a finger inside of her.

Fran took a sharp intake of breath, her head laying back on his shoulder as she savored the sensation. She felt as his long finger curled inside her while he used his palm to create a blissful friction on the outside, causing her to grip the back of the chair in front of her. Soft hums escaped her mouth as she started to move her hips with his motions, increasing the pressure and rubbing her backside against his arousal.

Maxwell groaned quietly, not sure how much of this he could handle after being away from her so long. He grabbed onto her side with his other hand and held her solid against him, adding another finger and increasing the speed. It wasn't a few seconds after that when her walls started to tighten around his fingers, her voice whimpering out in pleasure. He couldn't help but stare at her, enjoying the look of relief wash over her face as she gave in fully. He leaned over and placed kisses along her jaw as he began to slow his movements, letting her enjoy the few last waves of pleasure before he slipped his hand back out of her skirt.

"Well, you certainly weren't wrong when you said I wouldn't be disappointed." Fran said breathlessly as she turned around in his arms to face him.

"I'm glad, but we aren't through yet, so I would wait on giving your full reviews just yet." Maxwell pointed out, kissing her once more on the lips before he held onto her sides and moved them over a couple feet so there was nothing in front of them on the table.

They leaned in to kiss hastily, both of their hands going to the buttons on the others shirts and undoing them quickly. When they had all of them undone they reached up and pulled their own off, tossing them aside onto the floor before finally breaking contact.

"God, I never wanna go this long without you again." He told her, kissing his way down her neck and to the front of her chest above her lacey garment.

"Me neither." She said as she kneaded at his back with her hands, her head tilting back to allow him better access.

Maxwell couldn't stand the thought of waiting any longer, setting his hands onto her sides again and swiftly turning her back around. He pinned her body between him and the table, her hands landing on the surface to stabilize herself. He reached down and grabbed at the bottom of her skirt, pulling it up around her hips. His fingers hooked into the waistband of her panties, tugging them down and letting them fall to her ankles. Quickly he undid his belt, undoing his slacks and pulling them down along with his briefs. Not letting another second go by, he pressed her down onto the table and took hold of himself, entering her from behind.

Fran gasped out, her hands scrambling around to find anything to grasp as he started moving inside her. She didn't have to look long, his hands landing on top of hers and intertwining their fingers. She felt as he moved her hair aside and left hot kisses along the back of her spine, no doubt leaving his mark as he sucked and nipped at her skin. When he made his way back up to her shoulder he rested his chin onto it, laying his chest against her back as he plunged into her harder. Her eyes pinched shut as she felt him deep inside her, their new position allowing for even more pleasure than she could imagine. It didn't take long to send her over the edge again, her orgasm hitting her like a volcanic eruption.

Maxwell took a cue from the way her body was shaking underneath him that it was okay to finally let go, his hands gripping hers even tighter. He rested his lips on her shoulder, suppressing the moans that escaped his mouth as he got the release he had been waiting on for weeks now. He kept going at the same pace a few seconds longer, ensuring she was entirely through before he started to slow his movements.

Once the both of them stilled completely they kept their bodies pressed up against one another, giving themselves some time to come back down to reality. Maxwell stood back up first, releasing her hands so that he could pull out of her. He moved back while he did up his slacks, giving her room to get herself fixed back up too.

Maxwell reached to the floor and scooped up both of the shirts, throwing his arms in his quickly before he walked back to her with her blouse. "Turn around." He told her.

"Mister Sheffield, I don't think we have enough time for another round." Fran said, smirking over at him.

"Just turn." He said, spinning his fingers to get her to turn around and let him help her with her blouse. With it over her shoulders he tugged on it and turned her back around, starting at the top and buttoning them down as she started doing the same with his shirt. He heard her start to snicker to herself as they reached the last button, looking back up at her curiously as he pulled his hands away. "What's so funny?"

"Nothing, I'm just thinking about having breakfast tomorrow morning with the memories of what we just did in here." She said, tucking her tongue in between her teeth as she grinned at him.

"Yeah, well, if you start trying to put your foot in my lap again, I am going to insist that you eat in the kitchen like a proper nanny."

"Are you sure you want me to start acting like a proper nanny again?" Fran asked, stepping closer to him. "Because that means we can no longer do this." She said, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling herself up to his lips for a tender kiss.

"I guess I wouldn't want you to start getting too proper." He added, pecking her once more before they let go of each other. "We should probably get these dishes cleaned up before Niles gets here."

"I suppose you're right, and that way we can get them done and get to bed earlier." Fran said as the both of them walked over to gather them up.

"It's not even seven o'clock yet. How are you already ready to sleep?"

"Who said anything about sleeping?" She said, winking at him before they walked off to the kitchen with their dishes.

Just as they got them into the sink and started washing them, Niles made his way into the back door with a paper bag. He glanced over and looked them over, not surprised the least bit by their rosy faces and sweaty temples.

"You aren't finished with those dishes yet?" Niles asked, knowing damn well what was holding them up.

"Mister Sheffield decided he wanted more dessert before we finished cleaning up." Fran said, smirking over at him.

"Ah, yes, he has been craving a lot of dessert lately."

Chapter Text

Today had originally proven to be the Saturday from hell. Every square inch of the house seemed to be taken up by one person or another. Maggie had agreed to take part in planning the school dance and the whole committee of teenagers were currently residing in the living room. When they weren't bickering over ideas for what they thought was the best theme, they were squealing about who they were hoping to ask them to the dance. Brighton was working with his science partner on what they could only assume was a project to determine just how much baking soda and vinegar they could spill all over the kitchen before Niles erupted. Upstairs Gracie was taking part in her first official tea party with guests that didn't consist of stuffed animals. And C.C. was camped out in Maxwell's office preparing for opening night that took place on Monday.

Normally a full house wouldn't bother Fran or Maxwell much, both of them used to it at this point, but with their busy schedules finally starting to wind down now that his play was about to open in a few days they had hoped for a much more secluded day. They agreed that although they could sneak off together somewhere else in the house while everyone was preoccupied, that with the amount of people wandering around they couldn't eliminate the risk of someone coming to look for them and wondering what they were doing behind a locked door.

That is exactly what landed them in their current location, laying on the floor of the limousine that was parked outside. They had stayed dressed for the most part, only removing their shirts and adjusting the bottoms enough to gain access to each other. They both breathed out heavily as they laid flat on their backs, Maxwell pulling his slacks back up and redoing his belt as Fran straightened her skirt back down.

"Y'know, I never saw the point of privacy windows in a limousine, because what good is riding in one if you can't show it off." Fran said, sitting up now that her breathing started to return to normal. "But I am beginning to see its advantages." She said as she smirked back at him while he sat up beside her and draped his arm around her, kneading his fingers on her bare stomach.

"Well, it was certainly worth the extra eight hundred dollars today." Maxwell said as he held her tighter against him, kissing her shoulder a few times before he rested his chin on it.

Fran let her eyes drift shut as she enjoyed the feeling of his skin on hers, running her hand up to his face and stroking it softly. "God, I wish it wasn't so hard for us to be alone together."

"I know what you mean." He agreed, slowly running his free hand up and down her arm. "Waiting for everyone to go to bed just so we can finally be together is like torture. I wish we could go away together, somewhere where we wouldn't have to worry about who might find us and where we could talk above a whisper."

"Just talk above a whisper?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Well, we could do a few other things louder too." He said, grinning as he gave her a couple pecks on the lips.

"I wish that too, but it isn't really possible. If you went anywhere I would have to watch the kids and vice versa."

"Yeah, I suppose so." He said, smiling lightly to himself as an idea popped into his head.

"I guess we should get dressed, one of the kids could be looking for us by now." Fran said as they moved away from each other and finished getting redressed.

Maxwell opened the door and climbed out, standing up and holding a hand to Fran to help her out as well. Once she was on the pavement along with him he kept a hold of her hand, shutting the door behind them.

"Did you go somewhere?" Gracie asked from beside them, causing them both to jump a little and drop one another's hands.

"Gracie, what are you doing outside all on your own?" Fran asked, the both of them looking over at her.

"I was saying bye to Maddison and Carrie, their mom just picked them up."

"We didn't even hear a car pull up?" Fran whispered.

"I paid for extra insulation too." Maxwell whispered back.

"Why were you both in the limo?" Gracie asked, still not having an answer.

"Uhm, well, we were in there together because we were, ah, looking for something that Miss Fine had lost." He lied.

"Yes, my diamond studded bracelet." Fran added.

"Did you find it?" The young girl asked, fully believing them.

"No, not yet."

"I'll go look around the house for it."

"Thank you, sweetheart, that will be very helpful." Maxwell said, waiting till his daughter was out of sight before he turned back to look at Fran with squinted eyes. "Do you even own a diamond studded bracelet?"

"No, but I just gave you sex in a limo, don't you think I should?"

The next morning Maxwell did everything to set his plan into motion. Fran was right, they definitely couldn't go away anywhere together, but that didn't mean they couldn't have a little slice of paradise for one day.

After making a couple calls and running a quick errand, he told Niles he would be stopping by the theater to do a last minute check for their rehearsals tomorrow. Of course, the theater was the last place he had planned on going today. Once he had gotten to his destination, he initiated the main part of his plan.

Maxwell picked up the phone that sat on the corner table, dialing his home number. A few rings later a voice came through on the other end, just the one he had been hoping for.

"Sheffield residence." Niles said, answering the phone.

"Niles, great, are you in my office?" Maxwell asked.

"Not at the moment, I'm in the kitchen cleaning up lunch."

"Could you go into my office and check if I left a manila envelope labeled 'revised script' on it? I think I forgot it there and I want to make sure I have the set orders correct for tomorrow."

"Yes, sir, I'll check." Niles said, the line going quiet a minute before he picked up in the office. "Yes, it's sitting right here neatly on your desk."

"Could you have Miss Fine run it to the theater right away? I've already spoken with the chauffeur and he is ready to leave whenever she is."

"I'm just about finished in the kitchen, I could run it to you."

"No, that won't be necessary. I actually wanted you to keep an eye on the children today. Seems there was a bit of a wardrobe mishap and a few of the pieces could use some alterations, I figured Miss Fine could use her magic touch on them."

"Ah, I understand." Niles said, catching on. "I'll give Miss Fine this envelope and let her know you need her magic touch."

"Thank you, ol' man." Maxwell said, the both of them hanging up.

To fulfill his own curiosity, Niles set the envelope on the desk and opened it up. Inside was a script, but he suspected there was more to it than that and flipped to the first page. He smiled to himself as he looked more of the pages over, closing it back up and shoving it in the envelope when he heard the sound of high heels on the floor heading his way.

"Niles, you in here?" Fran called out, pushing the office door open a little further as she walked inside. "Oh good, there you are. I just want a second opinion. What would happen if you filled a metal canister with popcorn seeds and then set it in the fireplace for a few minutes?"

"I take it that it would explode and get all over the living room."

"That's what I said, but Brighton didn't seem to believe me." Fran said with a shrug. "What are you doing in Mister Sheffield's office? I thought he was gone for the day."

"He is, but he forgot his revised script and he asked me if I could retrieve it to give to you." He said, holding out the large envelope to her.

"What am I supposed to do with it?" She asked curiously, taking it from him.

"He wants you to deliver it to him at the theater so he can check that the set orders are right and there are some costumes that need alterations he would like to take care of while you are there, the chauffeur is waiting to escort you there."

"How am I supposed to do that while I'm taking care of the children?"

"He asked me to take over with the children in your absence."

"Okay, I guess I'll head over there." Fran said, starting to walk away when she turned back to him. "Oh, Niles, Brighton could use your help in the living room." She added, making him grimace as she turned and headed out.

Fran made her way to the limousine, smirking to herself as she thought about the time she spent with Maxwell in there the day before. She was secretly overjoyed when Niles had mentioned her going to the theater and not just because it meant she didn't have to help clean up the mess that the young boy had made, but because she would be seeing him. Although she would enjoy getting to spend time with him in a more private setting, she had been disappointed earlier when she heard he would be out of the house the whole day and any time with him would be gladly welcomed.

Fran climbed into the limousine, setting the envelope on the seat next to her. "I'm all set, Geoffrey." She said, looking over at the unfamiliar driver as he glanced back at her. "Oh, sorry, you're not Geoffrey."

"No, ma'am, I'm Alexander." The older gentleman said kindly. "Mister Sheffield requested that I be your chauffeur for the day."

"Nice to meet you, I'm Fran Fine."

"You as well, ma'am." He said, starting up the vehicle and taking off.

After about fifteen minutes when they had yet to arrive at the theater, Fran glanced out the window and was suddenly confused as she noticed that they had already passed the street it was on and were now in the shopping district.

"Ah, Alexander, I think you might have taken a wrong turn." Fran pointed out.

"No, ma'am, I'm on the correct route. I've been living in this city for fifty-seven years, I know my way around."

"I'm sure you do, it's just, the theater is about four blocks back that way." She said, gesturing behind them.

"We're not going to the theater."

"We're not?"

"No, ma'am."

"Then where are we going?"

"That I am not disclosed to tell you."

"Okay, well, for my piece of mind could you pull over and unlock the back doors please? Nothing against you, it's just I have this rule about riding in vehicles with complete strangers who are mysterious about where they are taking me. I learned that lesson the hard way when I had to hop out the window of a 1972 Monte Carlo onto the Long Island Expressway. If there wasn't a Giants versus Mets game just letting out and stopping up traffic I would have broken every bone in my body."

"Mister Sheffield mentioned to me that you were very colorful."

"Yeah, colorful but feisty, so I wouldn't be getting any crazy ideas if I were you." She said, putting her finger on the automatic window button to start rolling it down.

Alexander chuckled, shaking his head. "Ma'am, I am not planning on doing anything besides what was instructed to me by your boss."

"Mister Sheffield is in on this too? Why, you think you know a guy and then something like this happens."

"Open the envelope, ma'am. That will clear things up."

"The script? How would that clear anything up?"

"Just open it."

"Alright, fine, I'll go along with whatever strange ploy you have going on with my boss. But only because these city streets are too disgusting to walk on half the time, I really don't want to be hopping out onto them." Fran said, taking a breath as she opened up the envelope and pulled out the script from inside. "Let's see, we have a revised script for Mister Sheffield's play, a play that apparently isn't taking place at the theater if Mister Alexander has anything to say about it." She said to herself, flipping to the first page where she saw a note written in very familiar handwriting.

Miss Fine,

Surely you are a little more than confused by now, but please don't go leaping from the limousine just yet, I assure you are in good hands with Alexander. I have given him instructions to escort you to a few places that I thought you might thoroughly enjoy. If we timed this out right, you should be arriving at your first destination in a moment here. Leave this 'script' on the seat, you won't be needing it again until you are back. Once you are inside, just tell the woman at the front desk that you are there for the two o'clock appointment under Sheffield, they will take care of everything else for you.

~ Mr. Sheffield

Fran finished reading his note just as they pulled up to the curb and stopped, her eyes going over to see them parked in front of a very ritzy looking beauty salon. As much as she loved The Chatterbox, she had always wondered what it would be like to be inside a fancy boutique like this one.

"Would you like me to help you with your door, or will the window suffice?" Alexander joked.

"I got it, thank you." Fran said, smiling to herself as she set the papers on the seat before opening the door and getting out. She made her way into the salon and to the front desk, the woman behind looking up at her with a smile.

"How can I help you, Miss?" The woman greeted warmly.

"Hi, I have a two o'clock appointment under the name Sheffield." Fran said.

"Perfect, our team is already ready for you." She said, gesturing towards the large salon chairs. "You can take a seat on the far end and they will be right with you, Missus Sheffield."

"Oh, it's actually Mis-" Fran paused, liking the sound of it. "You know what, never mind, thank you." She said, walking over and sitting on the cushy vinyl chair.

It hadn't been more than ten seconds since her butt had hit the cushion and the team members started surrounding her one after another, all radiating positive energy that she hadn't seen outside of a commercial promoting Prozac. Each greeted her before launching straight into their task. One did her hair, another gave her a manicure and a pedicure then the last her makeup. Once they had their initial work done they asked her opinions on what she would like done, the hairstyle, any colors she'd like applied to her nails and which makeup she preferred. She decided on a slightly tamer option for her hair, not wanting to alarm the chic beautician. Some of her regular poof was still there as she wore it down with a mild curl, for her nails she chose a clear gloss and she went with a simple yet understated look for her makeup.

Fran felt absolutely rejuvenated as she practically skipped out of the salon, making her way back into the limousine. Once inside the vehicle again she looked at Alexander, unable to hide her excitement for what else was to come.

"I take it since you willingly got back into the limousine that you are no longer suspicious of me?" Alexander asked.

"Well, I'm not gonna let my guard down that quickly, but I'm starting to warm up to you a bit." Fran said, playing with the fresh curls in her hair. "Where are we going next?"

Alexander pointed to the script that still sat on the seat beside her, turning back around and putting the vehicle into drive before taking off.

Fran reached out and grabbed the fake script back up, opening it to the second page to read the note.

Now that you've been pampered a little, or faputst as you would put it, I think you are due for some leg work. Don't worry, nothing too tedious. In fact, it may just be your favorite form of exercise. Well, outside of your time with me, I would hope. On the next page there is a small envelope that you will be handing to the associate sitting near the women's dressing rooms. The rest should be perfectly clear from there.

Fran flipped to the next page, pulling the small envelope that was lightly taped to the page off and putting it into her coat pocket. Just as she did so, they were already pulling up to their next destination. She glanced over at the storefront sign, reading 'Bergdorf Goodman'.

"Oh my god, he wants me to go in there?" Fran asked, amazed.

"Yes, this is where I was told to bring you." Alexander stated.

"They are gonna take one look at me and throw me out."

"I don't believe they will do that, ma'am."

"Don't be so sure, it's happened before to me and my friend Val. Of course, that was back in our free spirited days when I had the dreadlocks and she was wearing her 'stay trippy little hippie' tee shirt."

"I think you will be fine now." He said, looking her over. "Well, actually, what do you have on under the coat?"

"Would it freak you out if I said nothing?" She joked.

"No, it might intrigue me though."

"Alexander, if a comment like that gets back to Mister Sheffield you might lose your tip." She fake scolded.

"He prepaid."

"I didn't mean money." Fran said, winking at him as she opened the door and got out. She took a moment to look over the department store from the outside, admiring it like it was her Church. Letting out a breath of air she decided she better go inside, walking through the revolving doors and finding her way to the area that he mentioned.

"You have something to try on?" The woman behind the desk asked, smiling up at her.

"I'm not really sure what I'm doing." Fran said with a nervous chuckle. "I was told to give this to you." She said, taking out the small envelope and handing it over to her.

The lady took it from her and opened it up, looking over the contents for a moment before she set it on the desk and stood up. "Right this way, Miss Fine." She said, leading her over into the dressing room area. "Here are the dresses, jackets, purses and most importantly shoes." She explained, gesturing to each rack of clothing while she spoke. "Just pick out your favorite outfit to buy and I will get you all checked out."

"These are exquisite," Fran said, running her hand along one of the dresses. "But I could never afford something like this."

"I already have the charge card, whichever choices you pick will be paid for."

"Oh, okay." Fran said, in a slight state of shock.

"Let me know if you need help with anything."

"I will, thank you." She said as the woman walked away, her wide eyes going straight back to the clothing.

After over an hour of trying everything on she had finally settled on the perfect combination. She chose a gorgeous burgundy off the shoulder bodycon dress at mid length with a slit on the leg, matching slingback heels, a black velvet trench coat with double-breasted buttons and a thick tonal belt, and a gold frame clutch purse. She never could have even dreamt of owning an outfit like this. Actually, that wasn't true, this was exactly the kind of outfit she had dreamt of.

The sales associate helped her get everything checked out and gave her a bag for the clothing she was wearing when she came in and then she was off back to the limousine. 'Leaving Bergdorf Goodman and hopping into a limousine, if fifteen year old me could see this now.' She thought to herself as she got back into the vehicle and took her seat.

"So, what do you think of my new outfit?" Fran asked, her expression beaming.

"I would love to give you a straight answer, but you got me scared with that 'no tip' comment before."

"I'll just take that as a sign you like it." She said, grabbing for the script.

"Woah, wait a minute." He said, stopping her. "Don't you want to leave a little mystery to the next destination?"

"I know that you don't know me well, but mystery's are not my forte." She said, reaching for it again.

"But wouldn't you agree that a twenty minute ride would be more exciting if you could daydream about where you may be going next, as opposed to knowing where and having to impatiently wait to get there?"

"I'm gonna be impatient either way, but I suppose I see your point." Fran said, moving her hands away from it. "I'll wait."

The ride felt a hell of a lot longer than twenty minutes in Fran's mind, but the little arms on the watch she had been staring at most of the time begged to differ. When they finally pulled up to the last destination she took a look out her window, tilting her head sideways to get a view all the way to the top of the tall building. She wasn't familiar with the place, but from the looks of it it was some lavish hotel. She quickly grabbed for the script, flipping it to the next page and reading the note to herself.

If Alexander was successful at diverting you from reading this, that means that you have finally arrived at the last stop. If you think the anticipation is killing you, you can't even imagine what it is doing to me. Though I don't believe it is possible for you to get anymore beautiful, I am sure you are looking positively radiant right now. I'd wish for anything to have you with me right now, close to me and in my arms. Do you wish for the same thing? If so, bring this keycard inside and take the elevator to the top floor. At the end of the hallway there will be a door, use it and join me inside.

"You're right, Alexander, it was better I didn't know where we were going, I would have ended up causing you to get a speeding ticket." Fran said, taking the keycard from the page before tossing the script back down and opening up her door.

"Ma'am, you'll wanna take your stuff with you." Alexander said, catching her before she got entirely out of the vehicle. "I won't be the one taking you home tonight, unless you are still taking other offers." He said, adding a small smirk.

"You've been a delightful chauffeur, Alexander." Fran said as she gathered up her things. "I'll keep you in mind for the future if I'm ever rich enough to afford your services." She said, stuffing the script into her clothes bag as she hopped out of the limousine and headed for the front door.

Fran rushed her way over to the elevator so fast that she was surprised security hadn't tackled her, pushing the button on the wall a few times as she impatiently waited for the doors to open. Once they did she got inside, pushing the button for the top floor and staring at the numbers above the door until they reached the one she desperately wanted to see. With a ding the doors opened and she was down the hall like a horse out of the gate, reaching the last door in record time, or at least record time from someone in heels. She paused for a moment, taking a second to make sure she was as presentable as possible. When she felt confident she grabbed the keycard out of her coat pocket, swiping it to unlock before she opened the door and went inside.

Looking around the room she was in awe. There she stood in a penthouse suite with the most spectacular view of the Hudson River. In front of the window on one end was a cozy looking L couch and a large wood coffee table that sat in front of a beautiful stone fireplace and on the other was a small table and chairs complete with dinnerware for two. On the opposite side of the room was a king bed with the plushest looking bedding she had ever seen and a couple of nightstands.

Just when she thought she couldn't see anything better, Maxwell stepped out from the powder room with that gorgeous signature smile of his and took her breath away. He was wearing one of his more formal suit jackets and had a crisp white dress shirt underneath, but instead of wearing one of his usual ties, he had it open collar with the first couple buttons undone. His black slacks were tailored especially well, showing off all the areas she admired.

"Well, what do you think?" Maxwell asked, walking toward her.

"This is," She paused, setting her bags off to the side. "I don't even have words."

"You? No words? I must have done something right." Maxwell said, smirking at her as he moved behind her and set his hands on her shoulders. "Let me take your coat." He said, taking it off of her and hanging it on a hook near the door. He walked back in front of her, taking a step back to admire her. "That was the exact dress I had hoped you would pick."

"Thank you for buying it for me, I love it." She said, running her hands down the sides to smooth it out.

"My pleasure." He said, looking her over even more. "I must admit, while you look absolutely ravishing in that dress, I feel like it is missing something."

"What? I didn't rip off the zipper did I?" She asked, grabbing at the back to try and feel for it. "Because I tell ya, it was hell getting the thing up all on my own. I usually make Gracie stand on my bed and do it up when I wear something like this."

"No, no, you are not missing a zipper." Maxwell said with a small chuckle. "I was thinking something more like this." He said, grabbing out a long skinny velvet box from his coat pocket and holding it out to her.

"You've already done more than enough for me."

"Just think of it like an early Christmas bonus, then this year I won't have to risk another trip to the emergency room." He said, handing it to her and watching the shock on her face as she opened it up. "I figured it would help corroborate our story to Gracie, now you can tell her you found it."

Fran pulled the diamond studded bracelet from the box, holding it up and staring at it in amazement. "Mister Sheffield, this is stunning." She said, taken aback.

"Here, let me." Maxwell said, taking it from her and hooking it onto the wrist. "There, that's perfect." He said, turning her hand and taking it into hers as he looked her in the eyes. "Just like you."

Fran smiled widely, pulling him closer to her and giving him a tender kiss. When they pulled away she kept his hand in hers and walked them further into the room, glancing around again at everything. "I can't believe you did all this."

"Just because we can't go away, doesn't mean we can't get away."

"Would you look at the view, isn't it breathtaking?" She said as she walked them over to the floor to ceiling windows and stared out to the water.

"Sure is." He said, gazing over at her.

Fran looked over to him, locking eyes. "So, what do you suggest we do with all of this privacy?" She asked, turning and wrapping her arms around his lower half.

"I have a few ideas in mind." He said, setting a light peck on her lips.

"Care to elaborate just what those ideas are?" She said, pecking him back and lingering near him.

"Dinner?"

"Dinner?" She said, pulling back and looking at him with squinted eyes. "We have no kids running around, no butler trying to snoop on us and no business partner making goggling eyes at you. Just the two of us completely closed off from the world and you're thinking about food?"

"Yes." Maxwell said simply, making her laugh out an exhale. "What? You want sustenance for all the other plans I have for you this evening, don't you?"

Fran's amused smile was suddenly replaced with a slight mouth gap, nodding her head slowly. "Yes, I suppose some supper might not be a bad idea."

After going over the menu and picking out their meals they called down to room service then took a seat at the dining table after turning on some soft music for a little ambience, deciding it might be best to keep some space between them if they were going to be decent enough to answer the door when it finally came around.

Surprisingly, they took their time with their meals. Not only because they were so good that they were worth savoring, but because they kept getting distracted by their conversations. Fran was surprised with the amount of stories she got out of Maxwell. He knew plenty about her life from all the anecdotes she'd shared over the last couple years, but she rarely got a glimpse into his past. It even went on past the point where their plates were cleaned of their contents, the sun setting beside them as they sat laughing together.

"You did not do that." Fran said, shaking her head as she laughed wholeheartedly.

"I absolutely did."

"You, Maxwell Sheffield, got up on top of a bar and danced?"

"Yes, I did."

"I somehow can't picture that ever happening."

"If you don't believe me you can ask Niles."

"Niles was at the nightclub too? What was he DJing or something else crazy you'd like to make up?"

"I am not making it up, he came to pick me up."

"I take it you were in no state to drive?"

"Well, yes, I definitely wasn't, but I meant literally pick me up. During my routine I took a spill off the counter and passed out cold on the floor. The bartender knew who I was and called him to come tend to me."

"God, what I wouldn't give to have seen you in your youth."

"What, am I too old and boring for you now?"

"You certainly aren't either, my sore muscles from yesterday in the limo are proof of that." She stated, rubbing her shoulder with her hand for a moment. "But sometimes I wonder about what things would have been like if I met you back then. Then again, you probably wouldn't have given me the time of day."

"Only because you would have been in high school back then."

"High school?" Fran said, raising her eyebrows in offense.

"Sorry, grade school."

"That's better."

Maxwell smiled, rolling his eyes slightly. "Well, I quite like you the way you are now anyways."

"Yeah, right, I infuriate you half the time."

"What makes you think you wouldn't have infuriated me back then too?"

"Because I would have been up on the bar dancing with you." Fran said, making him smirk as he shook his head. "Whattaya say, Mister Sheffield, you wanna hop up on this table with me and show off your old moves." She said, patting on the table.

"I obviously don't remember any of the moves, if whatever I was doing could even be counted as moves that is." Maxwell said, standing up from his chair and holding out his hand to her. "Would you settle for a casual dance with a less youthful version of myself?"

"I think that would suffice." Fran said, taking his hand as she stood up.

Maxwell pulled her close to him, wrapping his other arm around her waist as she draped hers over his shoulder. They kept their eyes trained on each other as they started to move slowly, surveying one another's facial features.

"Do you remember the night of my reunion?" Fran asked, noticing him smile at the mention of it.

"Of course, we danced just like this."

"I wouldn't say exactly like this, there was a room full of people watching us."

"It didn't feel like there was anyone else in the room with us while I was looking at you." He told her softly, holding her tighter as he turned her.

"I've always kinda wondered something since that night, I mean I know it would have just been for show, but part of me thought that when you dipped me, had my dress not ripped, that you were going to kiss me."

"You really thought that?" He said, seeming entertained by the thought.

"What, the thought never crossed your mind?" Fran asked, getting a shrug from him. "I guess it was just wishful thinking then." She said, sounding a little disappointed.

"Miss Fine, so you don't have any doubts, I'm going to show you exactly what I planned to do that night." Maxwell said, swaying her around the room and mimicking the steps of the waltz they had done the last time. When they got to the dip he kept his body close to hers and the hand that had originally been clasped in hers went up to gently graze her cheek, staring into her eyes as he started to move his head down. Fran's free hand slid from his arm and up to his neck, closing her eyes as his lips touched hers. He clasped her face and she grabbed a hold of his hair as they deepened the kiss, letting their tongues slip through each other's lips and explore the other's mouth. They took their time to savor that moment longer before Maxwell stood back up straighter, bringing her body with his as they finished their kiss.

Fran pulled back a few inches, opening her eyes into his. "Well, that certainly would have got people talking." She breathed out.

"Does that put your mind at ease?"

"Yes, but if you had done that back then it wouldn't have."

"Why not? You don't come across as someone that is concerned about a little public display of affection."

"I'm not." She said, wrapping both her arms around his shoulders as they kept dancing. "I just would have wanted more."

"I guess it's good your dress did rip then, because I would have wanted the same." He said, setting his hands on her hips. "Although, the sight of you climbing into the town car afterwards had a similar effect."

"Mister Sheffield, you said you wouldn't look!"

"Yes, just like you told me that you didn't look at me in the shower last year, but we both know that wasn't true."

"You got me there. I guess we're even then."

"I beg to differ! You got a hell of a lot more to look at than I did."

"Somebody thinks pretty highly of themselves." She said with a smirk, glancing down between them. "Not that you'd be wrong to."

"I didn't mean it like that, I meant because you were still clothed."

"Oh, well, how do we go about evening the score?"

Maxwell tilted his head, biting at his bottom lip as he stood back a little and looked her up and down. "I think there is only one way you're going to be able to do it." He said, reaching to her back and slowly pulling her zipper all the way down. Without a word he let go of her and walked over to the bed, turning back toward her as he took a seat on the end of it. "Undress for me." He commanded.

"Mister Sheffield, there is a giant window behind me." Fran said, shocked.

"We're forty-two stories up and surrounded by water, who do you think is going to see you?"

"A plane could go by."

"A plane is not going to fly by."

"What, you have all the flight patterns for this area?"

"There aren't any airports around here for a plane to be flying that low. Now quit stalling, you want us to be even, don't you?" He asked, crossing his legs in front of him as he waited. "Take it off, right now."

"Ya know, if you bossed me around like this all the time I'd be a lot better at my job." Fran said, winking over at him.

Maxwell waved a hand at her to hurry up, feeling more impatient the longer he waited. Just when he thought he couldn't take it any longer he watched as her hands went up to the tops of her dress, slowly pulling it down till it dropped to the floor and left her in only her slip.

"How's that?" She teased seductively. "Are we even yet?"

Maxwell shook his head. "No, not yet."

"Okay," Fran said as she grabbed the top of the strapless garment and pulled it down, letting it fall down to the floor along with her dress and leaving her in only a red lace bra and panties. "How about now?" She asked, taking a step forward out of the clothes.

"More." He said simply, setting his other foot on the ground and leaning forward to eye her closer.

"You sure? It feels like we should be even." She said, slowly walking toward him.

"Are you trying to drive me mad?"

"I don't know, is it working?" She asked, smirking as she stepped right in front of him and set her hands on his shoulders.

"Come a little closer and you'll find out." He said, grabbing the backs of her thighs and pulling her onto his lap.

Fran gasped as she felt him press his arousal against the thin lace material, her hands tightening on his shoulders. "Certainly working." She said pleasingly.

"Now, are you going to take the rest of that off or am I gonna have to do it myself?"

"I'll take it off, but you're gonna have to boss me around more first." She told him, pushing his suit jacket off his shoulders while she spoke

"There are less fun ways that I can get even with you, you know." He pointed out.

"Oh yeah, less fun for me or for you?" She whispered close to his ear as she started undoing the rest of his shirt buttons.

"I suppose both." He said, taking a deep breath as her hands slipped into his undone shirt and roamed his chest.

"So, what do you say?" She asked, tempting him to give in.

"I say," Maxwell paused, ready to break and give in to her request when suddenly there was a knock at the door. He smirked to himself, an idea coming to mind as he remembered who that would be. "I say," He paused again, turning his head toward the door and speaking loudly. "Come on in."

"What?" Fran said as she hopped off him quickly and grabbed a throw from the end of the bed, wrapping it around herself to cover up while Maxwell crossed his legs and fixed his shirt so it was mostly closed.

"Room service." The bellboy called out as he rolled a cart into the room, glancing over at them from near the doorway. "Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt, I thought I heard someone say to come in."

"No, you're fine." Maxwell said, glancing over to enjoy the flustered look on her face. "You had perfect timing, actually. Feel free to add an extra ten percent to your tip."

"Thank you, sir. Enjoy your evening." He said, turning and leaving.

"Oh, we will." Maxwell said, smirking back at Fran as the door closed.

"I can't believe you just did that while I was half naked!"

"I'm sorry, were you terribly embarrassed that someone caught you in such a vulnerable position?" He asked, faking concern.

"Yes."

"Okay, well, now we are even."

"Inviting a stranger into the room is not the same as me accidentally walking in on you in the shower."

"You're right, you don't have to live with him after he saw you. Come to think of it, maybe we aren't even yet." He said, grabbing onto the blanket she was wrapped in. "Give me this while I call him back in here."

"Mister Sheffield!" Fran said with a laugh as she swatted his hand away, making him smile at her as he pulled back. "What was he doing here anyways? We already had our food."

"Ah, well, earlier while you were scoping out supplies to nick from the bathroom, I called down and ordered us something else." Maxwell said as he got up and went over to the tray, rolling it over next to the bed. "Champagne." He said, lifting the bottle from the ice tray. "Fresh strawberries dipped in chocolate." He pointed out. "And whipped cream."

"Just when I thought this evening couldn't get any better."

"The night is still young, darling." Maxwell said, gesturing for her to take a seat on the end of the bed as he did the same. He grabbed the champagne bottle back out and twisted the lid, opening it up and pouring some into two glasses. After he set it back down he grabbed the both of them, holding one out for her.

"Thank you." Fran said as she took it from him, speaking again when she noticed he was going to take a sip of his. "Wait, we gotta toast first, it's good luck."

"You don't really believe that nonsense, do you?" He asked skeptically, stopping for her sake.

"Yes, I do."

"All right." Maxwell said, taking a breath as he thought for a moment. "To getting away."

"To getting away." Fran repeated, raising her glass and clicking the rim against his. She wrapped her arms around his, gazing at him as they both leaned in to take a long sip. When they pulled away from their cups they both leaned into each other, placing a light kiss on one another's lips.

Maxwell took a few moments to admire her before they untangled their arms, setting his glass back on the tray. "Here, let me get you a strawberry." He said, grabbing one off the platter and dipping it into the whipped cream before he held it in front of her mouth. He watched closely as she leaned forward a couple inches and bit slowly into the fruit, her eyes fixed on him the whole time. "Good?" He asked, getting a nod from her before he took a bite of the remainder of it, setting the stem back on the plate.

"That's the creamiest whipped cream I've ever tasted in my life, I could eat the whole bowl all on its own." Fran said after she swallowed her bite.

"I agree." Maxwell said, dipping his finger into the whipped cream and holding it out to her.

Fran leaned in and wrapped her lips around his finger, slowly sucking the cream off of it. She smiled devilishly as she saw him start to suck on his bottom lip, his eyes dark with desire. "I think you could use some too." She said, reaching for the bowl when he spoke and stopped her.

"I got it." Maxwell said, her look of disappointment not going unnoticed by him. He picked up the cutlery that laid beside the bowl, scooping out a big spoonful. Instead of taking a bite, he began to dab the cream onto her. He did the tip of her nose first, making her smile, then her upper lip, the side of her chin, her upper chest above her blanket wrapped body and the bulk of it on her neck. He put the spoon back down then scooted closer to her, loosening the throw and slipping his hands in and onto her hips as he kissed the cream away in the same order he had applied it. He used his tongue to gather every last bit of it, taking extra time on her neck before he pulled back to see the blissful look on her face. "Still hungry?"

Fran bit at her bottom lip, nodding her head yes in response. Her hands went to his shirt, pushing the sides of it open again before she shoved him harshly back onto the bed. She smirked as she saw him take a sharp intake of breath, clearly not expecting that. She reached over and grabbed the bowl of whipped cream with one hand and the spoon with another, climbing out of the rest of her blanket and onto him, straddling his lap. She spooned out a good amount of cream, starting at the top of his chest and drawing a line all the way down to his waistline.

Maxwell could do nothing but stare at her with anticipation as she set the bowl aside and licked at the cream that got on the tips of his fingers, seeming as though she was taking her sweet time just to torture him more. When she was finished she set her hands on his shoulders, leaning in as she started licking the cream off the top of his chest. She moved her lips down at a painfully slow pace and he hardened even more underneath her, he was sure she felt it too as she hummed in pleasure against his chest as he pressed onto her. Once she got lower on his chest he felt her body move away from his lap so that she could reach the rest of the cream, resting on his knees. He missed the feeling, but he couldn't deny the way she was twirling her tongue on his lower abdomen and applying extra pressure with her lips was more than worth it for the time being. When she got the last of it cleaned off she sat up again, looking at him with a grin as she slid back into his lap roughly and made him moan out.

"Now, if I seem to remember, you made some comments about us not being entirely even yet?" Fran asked, only getting a nod in response as he stared up at her. "Well, I don't really wanna have that hanging over my head, so I guess I should make things right." She said, taking her hands off his shoulders and around to her back.

Maxwell gazed at her as she unhooked her bra and let it drop down her arms, freeing her chest and tossing the garment off to the side. He quickly set his elbows on the bed, starting to prop himself up when she reached forward and shoved him back down again.

"Why do you keep doing that?" He asked, frustrated that he couldn't get to her.

"Because, you need a little patience." Fran said, moving away from him and standing up in front of her legs. "You told me to undress, I'm just following orders." She told him as she turned around and took a few steps forward.

Maxwell sat up as he watched her hook her hands into the waistband of her panties, bending forward leisurely as she pulled them down. He took a deep gulp, realizing that amount of saliva that had formed in his mouth. It took every ounce of will power he had to stay put as she stepped out of them and turned back toward him, giving him a full view of her beautiful figure.

"Are we even now?" Fran asked, after letting him have a good look.

Maxwell didn't say a word, raising himself off of the bed and going straight over to her. He grabbed onto the back of her neck with one hand and her hip with the other, pulling her closer and kissing her roughly. He turned her around, backing her toward the bed. Once her thighs hit the mattress he laid her down on it, laying on top of her as his hand traveled down to her chest and squeezed her breast.

Fran pressed her head back onto the bed as she moaned softly, his lips leaving hers and kissing down her neck. "Mister Sheffield?" She said, causing him to look back up at her.

"Yeah?"

"Don't you think you still have a few too many articles of clothing on?"

"Are you suggesting that I get undressed?"

"That's the general idea, yes." Fran said, getting a quick kiss from him before he climbed back off the bed. She propped herself up on her elbows, watching him as he stood in front of her and started to undress. He pulled off his shirt first, tossing it to the floor with a little extra attitude that she enjoyed seeing. His hands went to his belt, his eyes locked on hers the whole time while he undid it then worked the button and zipper. She glanced down as he finally had them undone, sucking at her bottom lip as he pulled them and his briefs down then stepped out of them.

Maxwell kicked his bottoms aside, his hands going to her knees and pulling her legs apart so he could step in between them. He rested a hand down onto the bed, leaning down to kiss her as he took himself into his other hand and guided his way into her. He gave her a few moments to adjust to him before he started to move slowly inside her, his free hand going to her thigh and pulling it to his waist while she lifted her other leg up and wrapped them around his body. To steady himself he set his hand down on the other side of her, their kisses becoming more forceful as he kept a steady pace going for a few minutes.

Fran broke away from his lips when she started to feel herself getting close, moaning loudly as her hands grasped at his upper back and dug her nails into his skin. Her legs went limp around his body and she felt her hands go to her thighs and grip them tightly to keep her in place as he sped up his movements. She got even louder the faster he went, screaming out his name for the first time now that she didn't have to worry about them getting caught.

Maxwell could have let go right in that moment, not knowing how much he could enjoy hearing the sound of her raising her voice until he heard her yelling out his name in pleasure. From this moment on he wasn't sure how he would ever hear her call him Mister Sheffield without imagining her calling it out at the top of her lungs as he pushed her over the edge. As she got quieter he slowed, allowing her to ride out the waves as he cooled himself back down. He leaned down and kissed her softly as he stilled his body, her lips barely moving with his as she slowly found her way back to reality.

"Hey." Maxwell said after he pulled back, her eyes finally opening to look up at him. "You still got any voice left in you?"

"I think I can safely say this is the closest I've ever been to running out." Fran said, running her hands up and down his arms. "You know, I know that you were raised to be a proper well mannered Brit, but we're all alone here, you could have made a little sound."

"Who said I was finished?" He asked, causing her to widen her eyes.

Fran squeezed her legs around him to check, feeling him still very much ready to go. She had gotten more than one round out of him many times before, but with the lack of times they had been together lately and the intensity of that one she was sure he'd have finished too. "Oh, well, what do you say we both test how good the insulation is in this fancy hotel?"

"That's exactly what I was thinking." Maxwell said, leaning back in to kiss her fiercely as he set his knees on the bed and started moving them to the top of the mattress. He laid his body onto hers, starting to move inside her again as his lips moved down her neck.

Fran's hands went straight into his hair, gripping the sweaty locks and tugging on them with each thrust. With her body still fired up from her first orgasm, it didn't take her long to reach the next one. Her shouts started to fill the air again and to her pleasant surprise, so did his. Both of their screams blended together, creating a frequency that just might have extended the audio spectrum. She had never heard a man sound as vocal as he did in this moment, if she wasn't already climaxing that alone would have sent her overboard.

Maxwell began to let his voice die down, wondering how he had allowed himself to get that carried away in the first place. Not that it was much of a shocker, she tended to have an effect on him that could make him do most anything. He let his pace calm as well, getting every last bit of the moment out as much as he could. When he was certain they both got everything they wanted he pulled out of her, rolling off of her and onto his back.

Fran waited till they both caught their breath then turned her head to face him, seeing him do the same. "We should make reservations here every week." She said blissfully.

"I'm not sure they are going to let us back in here after all the noise we just made." He stated, both of them chuckling lightly.

"Yeah, you're probably right." She said, leaning in to kiss him a couple times. "So, how late can we get away with staying here before it becomes obvious we aren't at the theater working on sets and costumes?"

"Ahhh," Maxwell started, looking over at the clock on the nightstand. "At least an hour."

"I'll grab the rest of the whipped cream."

Chapter Text

Yesterday had to have been Fran's favorite Christmas yet. Despite it not being a traditional holiday in her religion she had always wanted to be a part of one of those perfect cookie cutter Christmas' she would see in movies growing up. Since she had been living at the Sheffield residence she got to finally experience them for herself, the reality of it even better than what she had imagined in her head. Although that was to be said about a lot of things since she had gotten to this home.

The kids had woken them all early in the morning, normally something they could do without, but their big smiles as they all went downstairs and saw the beautifully decorated tree littered with presents underneath more than made up for it. The adults all enjoyed their fresh danishes while the kids got started on their presents, lighting up with each one they opened.

From there they spent the rest of the day together. Listening to holiday carols, checking out all their new gifts, eating delicious foods and ending the evening gathered in the living room to watch a Christmas movie together. It was the most wonderful day with the whole family and then it came to the most wonderful night with just the two of them.

When Fran had gotten back to her room she found a small present set out on her bed, opening it to find a pair of diamond studded clip-on earrings that matched the bracelet Maxwell had gotten her perfectly. She put both of them on, along with the gift she had picked out for him before she headed to his room. After thanking him for her present she told him how she hoped he wouldn't mind but she wanted to open her present for him, undoing her robe and revealing the gorgeous red negligee underneath. They ended up awake half the night, but it was the giving season after all.

The next morning Fran was exhausted, but it was definitely well worth it. When she found that Brighton had already taken over the bathroom she opted for going downstairs to use the one on the main floor, needing a shower to wake her up for the day. Since she had forgotten her robe, her plans were to hurry back upstairs before she ran into Niles or any of the kids wearing only a towel that covered even less of herself than some of the skimpier outfits she wore. Just as she stepped out of the bathroom a voice called out from near her.

"Miss Fine, what are you doing walking around down here in a towel?" Maxwell said, walking down the hallway toward her.

"I overslept and Brighton is in the upstairs shower, so I decided to use this one." Fran said as she gestured behind her. "I would have waited, but you know how long young boys can be."

"Yeah, I remember." Maxwell said, biting his upper lip as he eyed her towel clad body.

"You look like you're needing one of those long showers yourself." Fran teased, noticing the look of desire in his eyes.

"I suppose it couldn't hurt." Maxwell said, tracing his fingers down her arms and around to her lower back. "Why don't you join me?" He suggested, leaning down and kissing her as he backed her into the bathroom and slammed the door shut behind them.

"Mister Sheffield, inviting me to shower with you?" Fran asked as he broke away from her lips and started kissing down her neck. "That is hardly proper boss and employee etiquette."

"So file a complaint with HR." He mumbled against her skin.

"Didn't you get enough of me last night?"

"I could never get enough of you." He told her, moving her over and pressing her against the shower door as he continued attacking her neck with wet kisses.

"I'm actually starting to believe that." Fran said as she let her eyes drift shut, the heat on the glass from her own shower and his body creating a sensational bliss. "You know, I never would have thought that someone like you would have no self control whatsoever."

Maxwell stilled a moment then lifted his head, looking at her as she opened her eyes and peered back at him. "What do you mean I have no self control?" He said, furrowing his brow.

"I meant it just like I said, you don't seem to have any self control. I don't mind it at all, I'm just surprised that you're even worse than me when it comes to acting on your impulses."

"I wouldn't go as far as to say that." He snickered. "Just last week I saw you buy four of the exact same blouses in different colors because they were on sale."

"They weren't just different colors, they also had different buttons. Besides, I'm not talking about shopping."

"You mean to say that I have less control than you when it comes to sex?"

"Isn't that obvious? You took one look at me fresh out of the shower then you shoved me into the closest room you could find and started mauling me. You're like a teenage boy with his first real girlfriend, you just can't keep your hands off me."

"Me? What about you?" He asked, letting go of her and taking a step back. "I can't even wear my favorite cologne anymore without you coming at me like it's catnip."

"I can't be blamed for that! We have really good noses in my family, we're highly influenced by smell. Why do you think my mother shows up every time we're having anything with curry, she can smell it all the way from Queens."

"Okay, well, what about last week when you woke me from a dead sleep because you had some dream about me?"

"After I heard the way you were moaning my name in your sleep I know you enjoyed that interruption just as much as I did."

"If I was saying your name I was probably dreaming about something you were screwing up, not anything else."

"Alright, how about we settle this then."

"How, are you going to whip out a calculator and recount who made a move on who every single time we've been together?"

"No, settle it by making a bet. We see who can hold out the longest, which means no sex until someone caves and then they lose."

"And what does the winner get?"

"Get?"

"Yes, it's a bet, the winner usually gets something. So, what do I get if I win?"

"Well, you're going to get sex with me. That's reward enough, isn't it?" She said, making him roll his eyes. "Okay, fine, the winner gets bragging rights. But I'm warning you in advance that you are going to regret it. I didn't just inherit my family's nose, I got their ability to gloat as well."

"You're so certain that I will be the one to cave first?"

"Yes." She said, simply.

"You know what, you're on, because I already know that you will be crawling into my bed before I come crawling into yours."

"I wouldn't bet on that."

"We just did." He said with a snide, the both of them staring at each other in complete silence for a few moments. "Are you going to keep standing there or are you going to go upstairs and get dressed."

"Why, you can't handle being alone in here with me like this already?"

"No, I'm just worried you might catch pneumonia."

"Ah ha, sure." Fran said, tugging on the side of her towel and purposely dropping it to the floor. She watched as his eyes traveled straight down her body, smirking proudly. "Whoops." She said innocently as she leaned forward and picked up her towel, wrapping it back around her as he quickly looked up to the ceiling. "Enjoy your shower, you might want to keep the temperature a little lower than usual."

In the late afternoon Fran was gathered in the kitchen, brushing Gracie's hair as she sat at the table playing a game of Uno with the two older children. With most of her day so far having been with the kids, she had yet to have a chance to execute her plans to torture their father into submission, certain if she had two seconds alone with him she would have this bet in the bag.

As if her thoughts of him made him appear, the kitchen door swung open and he walked inside. He said a quick hello to all of them then made his way over to the fridge, grabbing out a bottle of juice and opening it up as he walked over to them.

"What happened to your hair?" Maxwell asked, looking at his youngest as he took a quick sip.

"One too many snowballs to the head, knocked her piggy tails right out." Fran said as she gathered up one side and tied it.

"Brighton, what did I say about throwing them at your sister's head?"

"Who said it was me?" Brighton defended.

"Who else would it be?" He asked, all of them looking at Fran.

"Ahh, all set, Gracie." Fran said, finishing up the second tie. "Good as new, no need to dwell on it anymore."

Maxwell shook his head, setting his juice down on the table as he looked over their card game. "What are you all doing playing a game you've owned for years?"

"We were bored." Maggie stated.

"Bored? Yesterday was Christmas, you have plenty of new stuff to entertain yourselves with."

"We already played Jumanji twice, our Yo-Yos got tied up together and we can't try our sleds because they closed the sledding hill after some teenagers poured buckets of water everywhere and turned the whole thing into a downhill glacier." Brighton explained.

"And everyone we know went away for the holidays so we can't even hang out with our friends." Maggie added. "I can't believe I am actually looking forward to winter break being over just so we have something to do."

Fran grinned to herself, getting an idea from their conversation. "Mister Sheffield, since there are still a few days left of break and everyone else is away on vacation, why don't we do the same?" She suggested, knowing that being away together would drive him crazy.

"Ohh, can we daddy?" Gracie started off, the other kids joining in the questioning.

"I suppose it wouldn't be a bad idea to get out of the house for a while." Maxwell said, thinking to himself how much easier it would be to break Fran without everyone sulking around the house all day.

"Where can we go?" Brighton asked.

"What about somewhere hot and sunny where we can lay on the beach all day." Fran suggested, smirking over at Maxwell as she spoke again. "I have the perfect two piece bathing suit in mind."

"I'm not so sure about that." Maxwell said, cutting in before anyone had a chance to favor her idea. "Traveling to warmer climates is not always the best idea over winter break."

"Why, you suddenly can't afford it?"

"No, I just think it would be rather crowded. Besides, I was thinking something more like the Catskills. We could drive up there in the morning and rent a cabin, they have plenty of winter activities that could keep everyone occupied."

"Oh, that would be perfect." Maggie said excitedly. "I bet there are a lot of other teens there and I would still be able to wear some of my new sweaters I got for Christmas."

"And we could finally try out our new sleds." Gracie said cheerfully.

"So, we're going to the Catskills then?" Brighton asked, equally as excited as his sisters.

"Sure, unless," Maxwell started, looking over to Fran. "Were you really set on the whole beach idea, Miss Fine?"

Fran did everything she could not to roll her eyes at him, knowing that it was fake concern since he knew she would never say no once all the kids were on board with the idea. "No, the beach will always be there, the Catskills will be just fine."

"Yes!" The two younger kids said in unison.

"Great, I'm gonna go start packing." Maggie said, hopping up as both the other kids agreed to do the same.

Fran waited till the three of them had vacated the room, glancing over at Maxwell as he stood with a sheepish grin. "So, the Catskills?" She said, not sounding too pleased with the idea.

"What? Do you have something against the Catskills, or did you just already get your fill of hailing snowballs at my children's heads?"

"No, I'm just thinking that we will have to wear a lot of layers while we are there. It's almost like you suggested it so that you wouldn't be tempted to break our bet."

"Not at all, I just thought it might be nicer to go somewhere a little more secluded." Maxwell explained, stepping behind her. "I mean, just think about it. Quietness all around us, snow falling outside the windows and bundling up in front of roaring fires to keep each other warm." He said in a low tone, tracing his fingers up and down her arms.

Fran let her eyes drift shut as she pictured it all, her head laying back on his shoulder blissfully. As soon as she realized what was happening she snapped out of it, not willing to give in this easily. She opened her eyes and lifted her head back up, turning around so they were face to face. She couldn't help but notice the look on his face, he was far too convinced he would be the one to win this bet, but she had other plans in mind. "I guess you're right." She started, playing absently with his shirt collar as she spoke. "It would be nice to get away somewhere nice and secluded. Especially when the kids are out and it's just the two of us." She switched to a whisper. "All alone."

"Mhm hmm." Maxwell got out, swallowing hard.

"And if you're telling the truth and you aren't worried about being too tempted by me then you could rent a cabin with one of those big hottubs, I could still bring my bathing suit and we could enjoy a nice hot soak together." Fran suggested as her hands slowly ran down the front of his chest, feeling how it rose and fell rapidly beneath her fingertips. She stared into his eyes, getting lost in the darker shades of brownish green. She glanced down at his lips and she noticed him do the same, fighting the urge to lean in before he did.

Footsteps coming down the back stairs stopped either of them making the first move, the both of them quickly stepping away from each other as Niles entered the kitchen.

"Well, I ah, I'm gonna go pack." Fran said, slightly flustered as she backed out of the room.

"Pack?" Niles asked, standing beside Maxwell. "Does this have something to do with Master Brighton instructing me to tie their sleds on the roof of the limousine?" He asked, noticing his boss staring off at the door with a distant look in his eyes.

"I'm sorry." Maxwell said when he noticed the silence in the room. "What did you say, Niles?" He asked, looking over at him.

"Sir, is everything alright?"

"Yes, I just might have done something rather stupid though."

"You doing something stupid? It can't be." Niles said, faking surprise.

Out in the living room Fran was making her way toward the staircase, not noticing as C.C. came in through the front door till she spoke.

"Hello, hello." C.C. said, closing the door behind her.

"Yeah, hi." Fran said, hardly paying her any mind.

"What's going on with you?" She asked as she hooked her coat inside the closet door. "Aren't you usually miss peppy?"

"I may have just done something really stupid."

"Oh, well, what else is new?" She said, the both of them heading off their own way.

The next morning the whole family woke up early and had a quick breakfast before hitting the road. They had convinced Niles to come along with them since they had already given the chauffeur a holiday and could use someone to entertain the children while the two of them played their own little games.

If the limo ride there was any indication of how their weekend was going to go, they were both in trouble. Fran had insisted on sitting next to Maxwell, glad when her motion sickness came in handy for something other than the one time it got her out of going to Mass after eating half a pound of gefilte fish at her aunt's house. As soon as she sat down next to him she knew it had been a mistake on her part, the smell of his Aramis filling her nostrils and the feeling of his arm resting behind her shoulders was already making her weak.

It hadn't been any easier for him. Every time they went over a bump she would grab onto his upper leg, squeezing it tightly as if she were doing it to steady herself. He knew better than that though, it was a very calculated touch on her part. And it certainly didn't help either of them thinking back to the last time they were in the limo together, a much more pleasant and satisfying time.

Once they finally arrived at the cabin, which felt like a whole lifetime, they all gathered their things and headed inside. They took a little tour around the place and it was absolutely stunning, what might be considered the perfect place for a romantic setting. The walls were covered in beautiful light woods, large bay windows looking out onto the snow covered woods and a giant stone fireplace centered in the living room.

Everyone agreed to meet back in the living room in half an hour's time, planning to go to check out the snow hill while the sun was still out. They decided to unpack first and get it out of the way, everyone going off to pick their bedrooms. Fran set out to locate the master bedroom, making sure to claim the room directly across from it before anyone else had a chance and as luck would have it, it was the only other room on the top floor. Sure they were in close quarters at home, but something about being a few feet away from him all night long with only two thin doors keeping them apart was a thought she liked him knowing very much.

Maxwell hadn't paid much attention to who had taken the room next to his, assuming Niles likely had when he noticed the door closed the first time he walked by. He did all his unpacking quickly, dressing in some warmer clothing before he got ready to head downstairs. As he got to the hallway he saw the door across from him wide open, taking a step forward to look inside it after he closed his own. That's when he saw her, humming to herself as she pranced around the room and set the contents from her suitcase into the drawers. He watched the way she took extra time setting her things into the bottom drawer, getting the picture that she must have heard him out there.

"I see you found a fitting room." Maxwell said, getting her attention as she glanced back.

"Mister Sheffield, I didn't realize you were there." She said, a devilish grin across her lips as she walked back over to her suitcase on the bed.

"Is that so?" He asked, leaning against the doorframe. "You normally take that long to set a few pairs of socks into an empty drawer?"

"I might have taken a few more seconds than I needed to, but they say that position can help strengthen the back muscles."

"I don't know if that is necessary, I think your back is probably strong enough from the last few months."

"Oh yeah, maybe you should check it and see."

"I think I'll pass."

"Suit youself." She said with a shrug, grabbing the last of her clothes and tossing them into the top drawer.

"Are you about ready to go?"

"I just have to get dressed and that shouldn't take too long. In fact, it'd be even faster if I had somebody to help me." She said, smirking over at him.

"Alright." Maxwell said, pushing himself off the doorframe and standing up straight. "I'll send Margaret up to help you." He said, smirking back at her as he turned and walked away.

A little over an hour had passed and they were still out at the snow hill, agreeing to let the kids go down a couple more times as the sun was getting ready to set. Maxwell and Fran on the bench at the top of the hill, casually chatting and sipping at the thermos of coffee they had brought along while the kids took part in a three person sledding race to the bottom.

Maxwell looked over as he saw his oldest making her way up the hill, glancing behind her. "Where's Gracie and Brighton?" He asked as she finally reached them.

"They're on their way up." Maggie said, stabbing her sled into the snow. "Gracie took off her second coat while we were building a jump towards the bottom of the hill and she noticed halfway up that she had left it down there. I was too exhausted to go back down with her to get it so Brighton just went."

"You know, you aren't supposed to get exhausted from playing in the snow till you're our age."

"Our age?" Fran said, raising her eyebrows as she glared over at him.

"Okay, my age." He corrected.

"I wouldn't have been, but they had me as the one in charge of hauling all the snow while they packed it into the ground, now I don't think I can do another trip up that hill. Do either of you want to use my sled? It's actually a lot of fun on the way down."

"Yeah, I wouldn't mind giving it a try." Maxwell said, setting his thermos down and looking over to Fran. "Miss Fine, do you want to join me?"

"Join you?" Fran said with a snicker. "That sled is hardly big enough for one adult, let alone two."

"I think we can make do." He said as he stood up, setting one hand on the sled and holding out the other to her. "Come on, we don't have enough time before sunset to both try it."

Fran gave him a sideways grin, setting her hand into his and getting up off the bench. She walked with him over to their starting point, waiting for him to sit down onto the sled first. "This is a risky game you are playing, you know that?"

"Risky for which one of us?" He said, smirking up at him.

"I think you're about to find out." She said as she sat down in front of him, scooting back and pressing her backend into his lap.

Maxwell moaned softly, not expecting the sudden contact. He quickly recovered, wrapping his legs around her lower half and giving her a tight squeeze which made her have a similar reaction as he had. "I hope you don't mind, I don't want my legs getting caught up in the snow and slowing us down any."

"No, I don't mind at all." Fran said, taking a deep breath.

"You ready?"

"More than ever."

Maxwell smiled to himself, digging his hands into the snow a few times to get them moving. They picked up speed almost immediately, Fran gripping the backs of his thighs while he held onto the sides of the sled. For a trail that had been used many times it was still surprisingly bumpy, every one they hit making them both regret their decisions to do something that had them this close to each other more and more. They passed by both of the younger kids a little less than half way down, the both of them cheering at them as they flew down the hill. It was a momentary distraction, then their minds went back to the friction that was created between the two of them.

Fran dug her fingers into his thighs, eagering him to tighten his legs around her which he gladly obliged. They both let their eyes drift shut, allowing themselves to enjoy the feeling while it lasted. With both of them very much distracted, neither noticed the jump coming up, that is till they hit it.

Being they were unprepared to be launched a foot or so into the air, Maxwell lost hold of the sled. It took off without them the rest of the way down the hill, leaving them to tumble through the snow and both land onto their backs with a thump. The both of them moaned together, in a much different way than they had hoped for.

"I can't believe you let go of the sled, that's rookie mistake number one when you are airborne." Fran said as every part of her body ached, again in a way she hadn't hoped for.

"It was a lot bigger than I expected it to be." Maxwell said with a pained groan as he sat up.

"I thought that the first time I saw it too." She said with a smirk as she slowly sat up, glancing down at his lap.

"I meant the jump they made." He said, slapping some snow toward her.

"Hey!" Fran said, dusting the snow out of her hair.

"Oh, calm down, I barely got you." Maxwell said, watching as she started gathering up a pile of snow in her hands and packing it together. "Miss Fine, I'm warning you, don't you dare-" Before he had a chance to finish his sentence the snowball collided with the side of his head. He exhaled, squinting one eye as he brushed the snow from his hair. "That is a really nasty habit, pelting snow at someone's head."

"Funny, you don't normally mind my nasty habits." She said, winking at him as she started making another one.

"Not ah, not again." Maxwell said as he crawled his way over to her, grabbing onto her hands and shaking the snow out of them. When he started to loosen his grasp she was already going to grab another pile so he quickly reengaged his grip and fought both of them to the ground, climbing on top of her as he did so. Once he had her secure beneath him he stared down at her, the both of them breathing heavily.

"You know, fooling around in the snow has always been a fantasy of mine." Fran said, eyeing him lustfully.

Maxwell let go of her wrists, setting his hands onto the ground to prop himself up. Her arms moved up to his shoulders, wrapping around his neck. At the very same moment she pulled on him, he started to lean down. Before they could meet in the middle they heard the sound of the two younger kids happily screaming in the distance, glancing up to see them heading toward them down the hill. He pushed off the ground quickly to get up, taking her hand and pulling her with him out of the way just in time to avoid becoming their second speed bump.

"That was a close call." Maxwell said, taking a deep breath.

"What? Almost getting run over by two small children or you about to cave and lose our bet?"

"Me about to cave?" He said, offended. "You were the one caving, not me!"

"Who was on top of who?"

"I was trying to get you to stop chucking snow at my head. I'm not the one who brought up fooling around in the snow."

"But how fast did you crumble as soon as I did?"

"You pulled on me." He defended.

"You leaned in." She protested back.

They both stared back at each other, neither of them willing to give in and admit just how much they both had wanted it to happen.

"That was so awesome! You guys should have stayed there, we could have seen if we could've made it over you." Brighton called out, breaking the silence. "You know your sled was way at the end of the hill?"

Fran finally looked away from Maxwell, glancing over at the kids. "Oh good, we were worried it might have flown up into the stratosphere." She said, taking it from him when he held it out to her.

"Why were you laying in the snow on top of Fran?" Gracie asked, looking at her father.

"Uhm, well, it was a lot harder taking the jump with the both of us on the same sled and we fell off, that was just how we landed." Maxwell explained.

"Yes, definitely way harder." Fran joked, getting a glare from him.

"Do we have time to do the hill one more time?" Brighton asked.

"Ah, no."

"Come on, the sun hasn't even started to set."

"Yes, but it will be by the time you dismantle this jump. It almost killed me and your father, I don't want it hurting some little kid who doesn't know it's here." She told them, gesturing to Maxwell to walk with her.

"Hey, you're not even going to help us?"

"We spent enough time on the ground already because of that thing." Maxwell called back, taking Fran's hand as they started to walk away.

"You say that like you didn't enjoy every second of it." Fran whispered to him.

"Let's just make our way back up a quiet one." He suggested, thankful in that moment for both the long walk back up the hill and his puffy snow pants.

The rest of the evening was fairly mellow. The family had a nice supper of hearty soup and fresh bread delivered to their cabin, courtesy of the resort. Afterwards they spent some time playing board games together in the living room, the hot chocolate and fire warming them all back up from their chilly outing.

Maxwell was grateful for the little break in their seduction games, not sure how much more he could take before he cracked. He was more than certain she was feeling that exact way, so all he had to do at this point was hold out just a little longer and he'd be able to win their bet. Luckily, the night had come to an end and they were all back to their own rooms. He could finally rest peacefully without worrying about what new technique she had come up with to make him suffer.

On cue there was a light knock at the door, causing him to look over from the fireplace he had just got going to see Fran opening it up.

"Oh, perfect, you're still awake." Fran said, stepping into the room in her robe. "Do you mind if I use the vanity in here to get ready for bed? The kids were all fighting over the bathroom downstairs, so I let Maggie use mine."

"Yeah, that's fine." Maxwell said, not seeing it as anything suspicious as he turned back to set the fire iron on the rack. He glanced back just after she got her robe hooked on the back of his door, leaving her in the same red negligee that she had surprised him with in his room a couple nights prior.

Fran grinned proudly as she walked across the room, watching the way he couldn't stop himself from looking away from her body as she did so. She pulled out the chair in front of the vanity dresser, setting her little bag down on it before she looked back at him again.

"Aren't you getting a little hot?" She asked.

"I beg your pardon?" He said, looking back up to her face.

"You're standing awfully close to the fireplace, I thought maybe you'd be getting hot."

"Oh, yeah." Maxwell said, stepping away from it and walking behind her. He watched her as she applied a cream to her face, his eyes following her hands down as she rubbed it into her chest. He looked back up just in time to catch the small smirk on her lips, no doubt thinking she had him ready to break. "I'm pretty tired from the long day we had, do you mind if I start getting ready for bed too?"

"Of course not, it's your room."

Maxwell nodded his head then made sure he was in perfect view of her in the mirror, his hands going to the bottom of his sweater and pulling it off along with his undershirt. He threw it off to the hamper then glanced back at her, noticing how her hand had stopped moving and was now resting on her chest as she looked back on him.

With her eyes trained on him he grabbed from his belt buckle, undoing it then doing the same with the button and zipper on his jeans. He turned toward the bed and set a hand on the end of it, pretending as though he was using it to steady himself as he slowly pulled them down and gave her the perfect side view she had mentioned enjoying in the past. He stood back up straighter and tossed them back with the rest of his clothes, leaving him in only a pair of black briefs.

Fran glance followed from his feet all the way up his body, watching as he turned back to face her and did a few purposeful stretches while he still had her attention. She couldn't help but wonder how much more of this she could really take, wishing more than anything to have that body pressed up against her at this very moment. She'd been certain she would have broken him by now, it was starting to feel less like a fun game and more like self inflicted punishment.

A thought came to her mind suddenly. The bet specifically stated that whoever gave in to sex first was the one to lose, they hadn't set any guidelines about how far they could go beforehand. With a new evil plan hatched she tossed her things back into the bag, standing up from the chair and turning back to face him. He had a cocky grin plastered on his face, clearly having seen the way she was drooling over him moments before. She was about to knock that smile right off his lips, while adding a few more things to them.

Fran sauntered over to him, deliberately keeping eye contact with him the whole time. His mouth gaped over slightly as he watched her, already knowing what was coming before she had even reached him. He took a couple steps forward to speed things along, meeting her in the middle where they both stopped. She could tell he was waiting for her to make the first move and make it she did. She grabbed onto the back of his neck, pulling his lips to hers for a passionate kiss.

Maxwell's hands went straight to her hips, pressing her body to his as he kissed her back. He was so relieved that she had finally broken that he didn't even care about bragging anymore, he was just so happy that they could put an end to this ridiculous bet. Just as he prepared to start walking her toward the bed she let go of him and pulled her face back. He looked back at her a moment curiously, wondering why she was making no attempt at kissing him again

"Well, goodnight." She said casually.

"Goodnight?" He asked, confused.

"Yes, see you in the morning." Fran said, grabbing his arms and moving them from where they had seemed to be glued to her sides. She traced her finger along his jawline as she walked past him, not even bothering to look back. She could picture his stunned reaction perfectly, there was no need to.

Four days had passed since that evening, four very slow, very tedious days. Fran found out very quickly that her little kissing trick was a mistake, the plan backfiring at her when he decided he was going to do the exact same thing back to her. Every time they found themselves alone he would practically lunge at her, leaving her with the most heated and raw kisses of her life before letting her go and going about with his day. She thought it was funny when it caught him off guard, but now it was pushing her closer and closer to giving in.

To make matters worse it was now New Years Eve, easily the most sensual holiday after Valentine's Day. Now that the party was going and the champagne was flowing, they weren't sure if either of them were going to be able to fight off the built up sexual tension they had forced onto themselves. He wore one of his black long sleeve henley's, just like the one he gave her to sleep in, along with a dark blue pair of jeans. She wore a gold sequin blouse and skin tight black leather pants. Both outfits carefully selected with the other's preferences in mind, though had it been warm enough she would have favored one of her short skirts to really drive him crazy with.

Right about the time Fran offered a dance to Maxwell, he decided the firewood was looking a little sparse and offered to run to the shed to gather some more. A very likely excuse, especially since Niles had been the one gathering it up till that point. After he hauled some logs in he stacked them by the fireplace, before he excused himself to wash up and get out of his warm clothes. When he finally returned to the room he made his obvious attempt to avoid any eye contact or conversation with her, standing behind the couch that the two younger children were lounging on.

"Fran, do you know where the confetti poppers that we bought yesterday are?" Gracie asked, looking over their party supplies on the coffee table.

"Ah, yeah, I think they are still in the bags up in my room." Fran said, getting up off the chair. "I'll go find them." She said, heading out of the room.

Maxwell took a quick glimpse back at her as she left then finally looked around the room, noticing his oldest was no longer there. "Where's Margaret?" He asked, glancing down at his watch. "There is only thirty-seven minutes till the ball drops, she should be down here."

"She went to the New Years party they're having at the event hall." Brighton said.

"What?" Maxwell said sternly. "When did this happen?"

"While you were getting the firewood that boy she met yesterday came by and asked her to go with him."

"And she just went without asking me?"

"Fran told her it was okay."

"Miss Fine okayed it?" He said, his anger shifting.

"Yeah, she told her to come back right after midnight."

Maxwell just nodded, trying to compose himself. "I'll be back, I have to have a little talk with Miss Fine." He said, storming out of the room. He made his way up to her room, seeing her turn his way just after he reached the doorway.

"I got the confetti poppers, but now I'm thinking I should just pretend I forgot them at home. They are such a hassle to clean up and I don't wanna make Niles do all that work on the holiday." Fran said, holding them up. "What do you think?" She asked, then Maxwell took a step into the room and slammed the door angrily behind him. "Okay, if you are that set on the poppers we can use them, no need to get so worked up about it."

"You agreed to let Margaret go to a party with some stranger without even running it by me first?" Maxwell said, raising his voice.

"He is not a stranger, we all met him yesterday." Fran defended as she set the poppers aside.

"Knowing someone one day is not long enough to let my child go off unsupervised with him. You're not her parent, you don't just get to make these decisions now because we are sleeping together. Don't you realize how dangerous that is? Did you even think about that when you let her go off with him?"

"First of all, I did not let her go off unsupervised, his parents were with him. And before you accuse me of anything else, yes I did talk to them. They are planning to stay at the event with them the whole time and drive her home afterwards. And second of all, I know that I am not her parent, I am her nanny and I have made these decisions many times in the past, long before we were sleeping together."

"That still didn't give you the right to let her go off with him. This is New Year's Eve, we came on this trip to spend time together as a family."

"She's a teenager, she wanted to celebrate with a cute boy she likes. Besides, we both know that is not the real reason we came on this trip and her going out with him is not why you're getting so wound up either."

"What the devil are you talking about?"

"You wanted to come on this trip because you wanted to get me somewhere nice and secluded so you could romance me into breaking our bet." Fran said, walking toward him. "And you are getting so worked up right now because all the tension from not being able to be with me is lying right on the surface just ready to erupt."

"You're mad." He said, acting as though she was crazy.

"Am I?" She said, taking another step closer to him so there was almost no distance between them. "Or am I just saying something you are fighting so hard not to admit, that you want me."

"You're just so-" He paused, taking a deep breath as he looked her in the eyes.

"So what?" She asked, staring back at him.

Not another word had to be exchanged, they both knew exactly what was happening next. They grabbed at each other hastily, pulling one other into a forceful kiss. His hands found their way down to her sides, holding onto them as he backed her towards the dresser. As soon as they hit the piece of furniture he pulled back slightly, making Fran worry for a moment that he was continuing their game and wasn't going to go any further before she agreed to losing the bet. Before she had a chance to say anything he moved down and grabbed onto the backs of her thighs, lifting her up onto the top of the dresser and wrapping her legs around his waist.

They went straight back into their heated kiss, their hands starting to work at each other's clothing. Maxwell undid the buttons on her blouse, pushing it off her shoulders and tossing it to the side before unhooking the back of her bra. Fran pulled the rest of it off then reached for the bottom of his shirt, letting her lips leave his just long enough to pull it over his head and toss it to the floor. His hands snuck between their bodies as he started sucking at her neck, gasping the zipper on her leather pants and slowly pulling it down. He hooked his fingers inside the waistband of them, standing taller so that she would lift off the dresser enough to pull both them and her panties to her thighs.

Once he had them off as much as he could without breaking contact with her, he let his lips leave her body. He crouched down and untangled her legs from his waist, pulling her pants down the rest of the way and letting them fall to the ground. He stood back up straight, his hands going to his own jeans before she even had the chance to reach for them. He undid his belt quickly, not even bothering with the button or zipper as he pulled them down to his ankles. He stepped out of them and kicked both discarded pairs of pants aside, pushing her legs apart as he stepped forward and went straight into a kiss.

Fran moaned into his mouth as he pressed himself onto her, his hips rolling against her with such intensity that she was more than ready for him. She figured he must have been able to tell, his hand dropping and grabbing a hold of himself. He broke from her lips, setting his forehead onto her as he looked down between them while he gradually guided himself into her. They both took a deep breath, the feeling one they had been craving since the second they made their stupid bet.

Maxwell wrapped her legs back around him and left a hand on her thigh as he started to move inside her, grabbing onto the back of her neck with the other and pulling her into a sloppy kiss. They kept the same pace going for a few minutes, both using their tongues to explore each other's mouth while they savored the blissful feeling. Tiring of their position he broke away from their kiss, reaching down and lifting her off the dresser. He carried her toward the bed while her lips moved to his ear, sucking at the lobe as he threw the both of them onto the mattress.

Fran gasped into his ear, her fingernails digging into the skin on his back from the intense sensation of them crashing into each other. They didn't even bother kissing again, both of them certain they wouldn't be able to concentrate on it much longer anyways. She rested her chin on his shoulder as he tucked his head into the crevice of her neck, his lower half thrusting into her rapidly. She began repeating his name as she felt herself going over the edge, hearing him moan as he allowed himself to let go too. She felt as he started to slow his movements till eventually they laid still, staying that way a few moments while they caught their breath then he rolled off onto his back beside her.

"I definitely liked relieving our tension like this a whole lot better than yelling at each other." Fran said, turning her head to face him. "I am sorry about allowing Maggie to go to that party without talking to you about it first, I didn't mean it as taking advantage of the fact we're sleeping together."

"I know you didn't." Maxwell said, brushing a strand of hair behind her ear and running his hands through it gently. "And I'm sorry for what I said about you not being her parent. You've been more of a parent to them than anyone the last few years. I was just frustrated."

"I know, I'm always here for you to vent your frustrations." She said as she rolled onto her side and propped her leg on him, running it against his legs. "Especially when you want to vent them like that."

"As it turns out you do get away with more because we are sleeping together."

"If we're being honest, I got away with most things long before we even slept together." She pointed out, leaning in and pecking him on the lips.

"I guess neither of us won the bet."

"I beg to differ, I think we both won." Fran said, kissing him again for a moment before they heard the sound of fireworks outside and pulled away. "It must be midnight."

Maxwell glanced at his watch, nodding his head. "Yeah, it's midnight."

"I suppose we should get dressed and get back downstairs so we can celebrate with everyone." She said as she got ready to get up, his hand keeping a hold of her face and preventing her from leaving.

"Wait, one thing first." Maxwell said, pulling her toward him and kissing her softly. When he pulled back he caressed her cheek, smiling lightly at her. "Happy New Year, Miss Fine."

Fran smiled widely back at him. "Happy New Year, Mister Sheffield." She said, leaning in and kissing him again.

Chapter Text

Spring was fast approaching, all the snow on the ground just beginning to melt away, new life ready to bloom just under the thin coat of white powder. It was only March, but if the start of the season was any indication of how the rest of it would be, they were in for a beautiful experience. It was more than possible that this sudden spring in their step had nothing to do with the weather changing and more to do with the company around them, more specifically one person for the each of them.

These days Fran and Maxwell were almost inseparable, the two of them spending more nights together than they spent alone. Their unspoken arrangement was becoming more like an actual relationship than a casual fling, though neither of them would admit it, not even if it should be more than obvious at this point.

They laid snuggled up on Maxwell's bed, snacks sprawled around them. Fran sported the black henley that he had given her months prior, the end of it stretched out with her legs tucked into it as she leaned up against him. Maxwell laid flat on his back in nothing but his pajama bottoms, one arm resting behind her and the other casually rubbing her arm.

"Why is she leaving?" Maxwell asked, watching the movie they had playing on his television intently. "Manny wants her there to celebrate with, not Jenny."

"She's his employee, she feels like she would be overstepping if she stayed." Fran explained.

"Are you mad? She's not just his employee. His emotions were completely shattered from the loss of his wife and mother of his child, then she came into their lives and turned everything around. They are truly happy again because of her. Can't she see that?"

"Yes, but think about it from Corrina's point of view, he's a rich successful businessman and she's the help. They come from two very different worlds."

"What does that matter?"

"She doesn't feel like someone like him would ever want someone like her."

"That's preposterous! It's obvious that they are madly in love with each other."

"Some people just can't see what is right in front of their faces."

"I guess not." Maxwell said, shaking his head before he turned to face her. "Do you have any more of those Licorice candies left?"

"Ah ha." Fran said as she pulled a Red Vine out of the package, holding it out to him.

Maxwell leaned in and took a bite of it, smiling over at her as he pulled back. He reached up his hand and tucked a strand of loose hair behind her ear, waiting till he was finished chewing to lean in and give her a gentle kiss.

Fran pulled back and prepared to put her attention back on the movie, but a knock at the door stopped her. The couple times before that someone was at the door while she was in here they would just talk to Maxwell through it, given that it was locked. Today however, that clearly wasn't the case as they saw the door start to open. Not wanting to be seen she moved back and took a quick dive off the side of the bed, tucking herself out of sight.

Niles stepped inside the room, freezing in place as he looked over and took in his boss's casual state. He took a quick glance at the movie that was playing then back at him, watching as he shuffled around quickly to find the remote and pause it. "Sorry to bother you, sir, but Miss Gracie is looking for Miss Fine. Do you have any ideas where she might be?"

"No, it's almost midnight. Why would I know where Miss Fine is?" Maxwell asked, flustered.

"I couldn't find her in her room and I saw the light under your door. I thought I'd check to see if you knew where she might be at this hour."

"No, I haven't seen her since I came up here a couple hours ago."

"Alright." Niles said with a nod. "Well, if by some crazy coincidence you happen to see her after I leave your room, please let her know that Gracie had that nightmare about getting dragged off by the giant ants again and she would like her to come tuck her back in." He said, turning and leaving the room.

Once the door was shut again Maxwell leaned off the side of the bed, looking down at Fran. "You forgot to lock the door?" He asked, giving her a hand to help her back up.

"It's your fault I got sidetracked." Fran defended, brushing off her shirt as she got to her feet.

"How is it my fault?"

"Because, the second I walked in here you started mauling me."

"First of all, that was you mauling me. And secondly, the last time you came into the room was with snacks."

"Well, that's still your fault then for trusting me to remember anything when I've got an arm full of Goobers and Red Vines."

Maxwell exhaled. "Are you going to go tuck my child back in?"

"Yeah," Fran paused, kneeling down onto the bed. "I just need one more thing first." She said as she leaned toward him, making him smile at her as he went to lean in too. Before he had a chance to kiss her she reached beside him, grabbing the box of candy. "I can't forget my Goobers, I know how long it takes her to get back to bed." She said, smirking as she popped one into her mouth then walked off.

The next morning after breakfast was finished, Fran got the kids ready to head off to school and Maxwell went to his office to get some work done. After about an hour Maxwell decided he needed a coffee refill and headed to the kitchen, walking into the room and seeing Fran at the counter making up a plate of cheese and crackers.

"Are you trying to campaign for Niles' job?" Maxwell asked, walking over next to her to fill up his coffee mug.

"No, I've seen Brighton's bathroom enough times to know I don't want his job." Fran said, smiling over at him as she picked some grapes off the vine and started putting them into a bowl. "Val's stopping by in a while and I wanted to have something to snack on while we kibitz."

"Ahh." He said, stepping a little closer to her and lowering his voice. "Why didn't you ever come back to my room last night?"

"I had planned on it, but Gracie took so long to get back to sleep that I passed out too."

"Making a habit out of falling asleep in a Sheffield's bed?"

"I suppose so, though I enjoy spending the night in your bed much better." She said, making him smirk. "Don't get too cocky, I meant because it was uncomfortable crammed in that little twin bed. My neck still has a crick in it."

"Maybe I can help with that." Maxwell said, setting down his coffee on the counter and stepping behind her. His hands went up to her shoulders, massaging them thoroughly.

"God, that feels so good." Fran said, letting her eyes drift shut.

"Well, once Val is gone I'll give you the extended version."

"Extended version, hmm? What does that include?"

Maxwell leaned in, whispering next to her ear. "Come find me after and I'll show you." He told her, her hand reaching up to his face and running it down his jawline before she turned to face him and opened her eyes. He placed a couple quick pecks on her lips then one more on her nose before he picked his coffee back up and headed off.

Fran smiled happily to herself as she looked off at where he had just left the room, turning back to finish getting her snacks ready when she caught a glimpse of her best friend standing outside the back door, her mouth gaped open in surprise.

"Val!" Fran called out as her smile dropped immediately, hurrying over to the door to open it and let her inside. "Val, how long have you been standing there?" She said as they made their way further into the room.

"Long enough to catch that HBO special going on in the kitchen." Val said, gesturing to where they had been standing. "You and Mister Sheffield are together?"

"Yes, no, well, kind of. It's a long story." Fran said, pausing. "But we can't talk about this here, we never know who could be listening."

Val glanced around the room suspiciously, whispering back to her. "Spies?"

"No, Val!" She said, slapping her friend's arm. "Like Niles or C.C.."

"Ohhh, right." She said with a nod.

"We can talk in my room." Fran suggested, the both of them heading up the back staircase and up to her room. She closed the door behind them, walking over to her bed where they both sat down on the edge. "Okay, I'll tell you everything, but I am swearing you to secrecy. That means no slip ups like when Cher was here, what I say stays in this room."

"I promise I won't tell another soul." Val said, crossing her heart. "Now tell me everything! What is going on with you and Mister Sheffield?"

"Alright, so, do you remember last May when I went out drinking with Mona and the other nannies?"

"Yeah, when you had too many pink squirrels and woke up in Mister Sheffield's bed."

"Yes and remember how I also told you that neither of us could remember anything from that night when we woke up?"

"Ah ha." She nodded. "Anything besides that really vivid sex dream you had about him."

"Well, later when I was taking off my makeup I noticed that I had a hickey on my neck."

"You can get a hickey from a vivid dream? Gee, I'll never doubt my cousin Shirley's story about dreaming she was river rafting and waking up with a fish in her bed."

"No, Val," Fran paused, taking a breath. "It wasn't from the dream. Once I saw the hickey I started to piece things together and realized it wasn't just a figment of my imagination to begin with."

"Wait, do you mean that you actually had sex with him?" Val asked, getting a nod in response. "But that was," She paused, starting to count on her fingers. "May, June, July, Au-"

"Ten months ago, Val." Fran said, cutting her off.

"What happened after you remembered, did you tell him?"

"I didn't have to, he started remembering too. We ran into each other in the kitchen the night after and we ended up talking about it and we agreed that given my drunken state and the fact that he was on a lot of cold medicine that it was just something that happened and that we would move past it and let things go back to normal."

"But I'm still lost, if you agreed that it was just some random one time thing, then what was going on in the kitchen?"

"We agreed that it would be a one time thing, but after a couple days he started pulling away from me. I thought maybe he was too weirded out having someone he slept with working for him because he went out of his way to stay away from me and he would hardly even make eye contact with me when we were in the same room."

"Well, I wouldn't be surprised, you told me he did the same thing after you saw him in the shower, he would be way more embarrassed after remembering you did more than see it."

"I thought that too. That's why after a few weeks of waiting for it to pass, I put a plan in motion to get things back to normal. I stopped hiding from him and went into his office to try and move past any awkward tension, but it turns out that wasn't the tension that was causing him to hide from me because the second we were alone together he started running his hand up my leg."

Val gasped. "He didn't!"

"He did! And it caught me off guard so I jumped a little, then he launched into a panic about it and the only way I could get him to stop was to grab his hand and put it back, which just led to more sexual tension because we started talking about how that night together was the only thing either of us had been able to think about and how hard it was to move on from the memories of it. We really tried to forget about it, but we couldn't do it. Then before we knew it our hands were all over each other and I was climbing onto his desk chair and straddling him."

"Right in his office?"

"Luckily no one was home, but even if they were, I don't know if that would have stopped us. It's like we weren't even in control of ourselves, it was just this raw magnetism pulling us together. We thought if we fooled around one more time while we were both fully lucid that maybe it would help us get it out of our systems, but Val, it just made it worse."

"And is it, ya know," She paused, raising her eyebrows.

"Oh, so amazing." Fran said, taking a breath as she thought about it. "I didn't realize how much I could enjoy, you know, but these last ten months have opened my eyes to a whole other world. I've never been with a man that put so much time and care into making sure I'm satisfied."

"I could see him being like that, he can be really tender with you."

"He's tender, but it's not just that, he is so passionate, more than I ever imagined he could be, and you know I imagined quite a bit."

"I know." Val said, thinking back to their girl talks they had had about him over the last few years. "So you two just kept fooling around after the time in the office?"

"We tried to let that be our last time together, but after a couple weeks we realized we couldn't stop. I can't even explain it, but we have become like each other's new addictions, like we actually crave each other. We tried a bet a few months ago to see who could hold out the longest and neither of us could even follow through with it. We actually ended up fighting because we were so tense from not being together and he threw me up onto the dresser and had his way with me right there."

"Mister Sheffield? That doesn't sound like him at all."

"I wouldn't have thought he had it in him either, but he proved me wrong so many times. For a repressed Englishman he can actually be a real firecracker. I don't think there is a room in this house that he hasn't accosted me in, he even went after me in the dining room."

"Like on the table?"

"No, the thought certainly crossed my mind though. But I don't think that would have been a good idea, we don't know the weight restrictions and it would have been tough explaining the broken table to everyone when they got home."

"Good call, plus you don't want to have to worry about splinters." Val pointed out. "So, does anyone else know what you two have been doing?"

"No, it's been our little secret." Fran explained. "Well, not really little." She added, smirking proudly to herself.

"I can't believe you have managed to keep it hidden this long."

"It's actually been kinda fun sneaking around together trying not to get caught. I mean it hasn't been easy mind you, especially with a yenta butler roaming around opening doors at random. He almost caught us last night when I was in his bedroom. We were already done fooling around thankfully, we were just laying and watching a movie, so I had to jump off the bed to hide so he wouldn't see me. Luckily, he still has no clue whatsoever about anything going on between us."

"You haven't had any other close calls all these months?"

"Well, we did actually get caught once."

"By who?"

"You don't know her, she was just this investor that Miss Babcock brought by the house one day while we were trying to fool around on the couch."

"Wait, doesn't that mean Miss Babcock caught you too then?"

"No, we stayed quiet and they left the room before they could see us both laying there. It wasn't till later after the woman spent the whole evening flirting with him that he sent me down to the cellar to look for a bottle of champagne. It was a kind that he never buys so I was looking long enough that he could excuse himself to come help me 'find it'." She said, making air quotes with her fingers.

"So, did you guys find it?" Val asked, looking as though she was on the edge of her seat.

"No, Val, it was just an excuse for us to be alone in the cellar. Earlier in the evening I had mentioned to him how much of a turn on it was to almost get caught, which he denied at the time, but once we were down in the cellar he confessed that he had been lying."

"And that is when she caught you?"

"Yeah, she came down looking for him and she saw us half dressed and pinning each other against the wall."

"Were you two already-"

"No, but had she come down a few minutes later she would have gotten quite an eyeful."

"What did she do when she saw you?"

"She was actually really sweet about it, she even covered for us when Miss Babcock came down and saw me wearing his coat because he threw it on me quickly to cover me up."

"I'm surprised she didn't rat on you like Stacy Thornton did to your mom after you and Brian Lennecks frenched during spin the bottle because she liked him and her feelings were hurt."

"She was no Stacy Thornton, I'll tell you that! She actually came back to apologize for flirting with him and she told me she was glad to see he had someone to keep him happy."

"She's not wrong, he sure did look happy with you in the kitchen. I don't know if I've ever seen him look so laid back before."

"Well, he makes me really happy too." Fran said, her whole face lighting up with a smile. "It's almost hard to believe sometimes, that a guy as classy and sophisticated as him could be interested in me. I feel like one day I'm gonna wake up and find out it really was just a dream."

"I doubt you could dream for ten months straight, unless you were in a coma." Val said, moving around to look at Fran's head. "You didn't hit your head too hard before all this happened, did you?"

"Val, I meant that figuratively." Fran said, noticing her still glancing around. "Stop looking at my head, Val, I'm not in a coma!" She said, smacking her arm.

Before they had a chance to go back into further detail about her nearly year long sex escapades with her boss, there was a knock at the door and the very man that had been the topic of their conversation walked into the room.

Maxwell glanced over at the bed, seeing the both of them sitting there looking back at him. He froze a moment in place, his hand still on the doorknob. "Ahh, Miss Toriello, I'm sorry I hadn't realized you had already arrived, I wouldn't have just barged in here had I known."

"You don't have to say sorry about anyone you do in your own home." Val said, getting an elbow to the side from Fran. "Anything. Anything you do in your own home." She corrected quickly, getting an odd look from him.

"Yes, well, my apologies either way." He said, looking at Fran. "I was coming to let you know that my old buddy just called, it seems he has become a pretty successful playwright since I left London and he is going to be by shortly to discuss a new project he's working on in New York, so we will have to push that conversation we were going to have a little later."

"Conversation?" Fran asked, trying to remember if they had anything they were planning to talk about.

"Yes, remember the one we were just talking about in the kitchen." He said, raising his eyebrows. "About the extension on your, ah, vacation days."

"Ohh, that conversation." Fran said, smirking as she caught on. "Later is fine, just as long as you've really thought about that extension."

"Yes, I assure you it is the only thing on my mind."

"Good, because I know how much you care about my pleasure," She paused for a moment. "Trips."

"Ah, yes." Maxwell said, clearing his throat as he glanced back out the hallway. "Well, I'll leave you girls to your chat. And Miss Fine, I will see you later."

"See you later, Mister Sheffield." Fran said, smiling at him as he backed out of the room and closed the door he never managed to let go of the whole time he stood there.

"I didn't know you were planning a vacation." Val said, looking back over to her.

"Val, I'm not-" Fran started, pausing a second. "Yeah, I'm thinking Bermuda." She added, giving up on explaining.

"I can't get over how formal you two can still be with each other." Val said with surprise. "I know it is all just an act because I'm here, but it must be so strange calling each other by your last names when you used to calling each other by your first names while you're alone."

"It's not strange, we don't even use first names when we're alone together."

"You don't?" Val asked, getting a head shake from her friend. "So, while you are being intimate with each other you call him Mister Sheffield and he calls you Miss Fine?"

"Yes, that is what we have always called each other."

"But you are together now, aren't you?"

"I'm not really sure what we are."

"Wow, I admire your whole attitude about this. I start getting paranoid after one date with a guy wondering where it is going. But here you are, after ten months of sleeping together and you haven't even worried about it. I mean, you're still calling each other by your last names, no one knows about it, you have no idea where it is even going, you don't even know if you are free to see other people. It would be driving me crazy if I were you, not knowing what it all means to him."

"Okay, Picasso, you drew a vivid enough picture for me." Fran said, all those fears starting to hit her at once.

Not long after the realization hit Fran suggested that they drop the subject for now, using the excuse that Maxwell probably wouldn't like having all their private moments shared. That was far from the reason for her sudden disinterest in the subject of the two of them, her mind now racing with the thoughts of what her friend so bluntly pointed out.

How could she have not thought about this sooner? Was she really that caught up in the bliss of it all that she didn't even stop to wonder why nothing had seemed to change between them outside of the fact that they were now sleeping together? She knew plenty of people that were already engaged after that many months together, but here she was still calling him Mister Sheffield.

Had he just not thought about it either? Maybe he too was so swept up in the moment that he hadn't put together how much time had gone by, he could be a little slow to respond after all. Though she hoped more than anything that was the case, she began to wonder if his not mentioning anything was less to do with absent mindedness and more to do with not wanting to actually commit to her.

He had said himself that he wasn't looking to date anyone, not wanting to be with another woman after his late wife, but then he slept with her. Not just once, but again and again and again, so many times that she had already lost count months ago. Could he have changed his mind about being with somebody new? Or was he just enjoying the thrills that came from sleeping with a woman who hadn't thought to ask for anything more?

She couldn't keep sitting here and thinking about this, Val was already long gone and here she was taking what little free time she had before the kids got home spiraling over something that might not even be as dramatic as she was making it out to be in her head. With that thought she got back up, deciding that it was time to have a talk with him about what was really going on between them.

Downstairs Maxwell sat at the desk in his office, his old friend Noah sitting across from him and engaging in conversation. They had just finished going over the key points of his new play, much to his pleasure the whole thing actually sounded rather promising and they were hopeful that it would become a big hit. Since they were through with their shop talk they moved onto more casual chit chat, catching up after years of not seeing one another.

"I will definitely miss working West End theater, but I was just feeling ready for a change and I think that this play could be a big moneymaker on Broadway." Noah said, gathering up some of his things and putting them into his satchel.

"Yes, this one definitely has the potential to make it to the top." Maxwell said, closing up the script. "And it will be great getting to work together again."

"Certainly will be. You know, I can't even remember the last project we did together."

"Yes, because your mind is blocking out that dreadful excuse for a play, if you can even call it that."

"Oh, was it the one that showcased the dark side of traveling circuses?"

"That's the one!"

"Arthur Mullins clearly had never heard the saying 'nobody likes a sad clown' when he came up with that one." He said, both of them chuckling. "No, but seriously, I am very glad to work with you again. What has it been, twenty years?"

"Just about."

"Well, you will have to catch me up on all things Maxwell Sheffield. I just came across a magazine that did an article on the last play you produced, and I saw in that photo that you went and got yourself a whole family."

"Yes, I did. I have my oldest daughter Margaret, my son Brighton and my youngest daughter Gracie."

"Brighton? Keeping a bit of the old haunts with you with that name."

"Yes, I managed to talk my wife into that one."

Outside Fran walked down the hall on a mission, all set to get to the bottom of this 'what are we to each other' subject altogether. As she got closer to the she heard voices inside his office, stopping just before the doorway as she listened.

"Ah, yes, I saw your wife in a couple photos as well. A real beaut, you did yourself a bit of alright with that one."

"No, ah, my wife passed away."

"Oh, I hadn't known, my condolences."

"Thank you, it was years ago now."

"I just assumed, I saw you arm and arm with that gorgeous brunette." Noah said, Fran catching on to the fact that he thought she was his wife, if only. "I take it she is your girlfriend then?"

"No, uhm, she's just my nanny."

"Really, so there is nothing going on between you two?"

"No, nothing at all." Maxwell said, nonchalantly.

Fran stood frozen, but only a second as his words hit her like a ton of bricks. Before she had a chance to hear him deny their so called relationship anymore, she turned and hurried back toward her room.

"Since there isn't anything going on there and I haven't really had a chance to get out and meet any women since I got to town, would you mind if I asked her for her number?"

"Like to date her?" Maxwell asked, getting that uneasy feeling in the pit of his stomach that he felt anytime he thought of her with another man.

"Yeah, I mean, a few of them at least."

"No, you can't date her." Maxwell said, so quickly that he hadn't even thought of a reason why. "Uhm, it's just, she is involved with someone already."

"Damn, I guess I should have known that, she is a bombshell afterall. Are they very serious?"

"Well, they have been involved for a little over ten months now and he is really crazy about her."

"Lucky guy."

"Yeah, he is." Maxwell said, smiling to himself.

Fran had kept herself fairly busy the rest of the day, finding it was better that way so she wasn't left alone with her thoughts. She did her best to avoid him as well, luckily it wasn't too hard as he and his friend went off to check out the theater they were looking to put a deposit on for their upcoming project.

When the night was finally coming to an end she decided she was going to retire to her room, all the children already in bed for the evening. She approached her door and was almost in the clear when she heard a voice call out to her from down the hall, a voice that she was normally much happier to hear than she was today, especially as she heard the first words he spoke.

"Miss Fine, are you going to bed already?" Maxwell asked, walking over to her.

"Yeah, it's been a long day and I'm exhausted." Fran said truthfully, albeit the exhaustion was more emotional than anything else.

"I suppose you're too tired for that ah, extended massage." He asked, playing with the ends of her hair as he eyed her.

"Maybe a raincheck on that, I'm not really in the mood tonight."

"Yeah, of course." He said, noticing that she was hardly reacting to him. "Is everything okay?"

"Yes, I'm just really tired."

Maxwell looked her over, not sure he believed her given her somber demeanor, but choosing to take her word for it. "Okay, well, I'll let you get some rest." He said, glancing each way down the hall before he leaned in and gave her a quick kiss. "Goodnight, Miss Fine."

"Goodnight, Mister Sheffield." Fran said, watching as he walked off before she headed into her room. She felt bad about blowing him off, even more so when he was being so sweet with her, but she couldn't handle the idea of being with him tonight. Not with his words echoing through her head.

Just his nanny.

Nothing at all between them.

Every single thought she had feared, coming straight from his mouth. It pained her so much to think that the last few months had meant so little to him that he was able to reduce them to nothing, to just his nanny. Not his girlfriend, not even his friend, just his nanny.

Maybe that was all she would ever be to him, maybe she had been kidding herself to think they could have become more. All the hopes and dreams she had for the future; falling in love, getting married, having a family, maybe it just wasn't meant to be with Maxwell Sheffield. Mister Sheffield as she called him, the name she would likely always call him.