As promised, here's the first chapter of my "Affair to Dismember" continaution story. If I get a good response, I'll post Chapter 2 (hint, hint, LOL). For those who don't remember, this is the episode where Fran nearly leaves the Sheffield's to marry Maxwell's brother Nigel. This story starts right after Fran went to the pier to meet Nigel.

Niles walked into Mr. Sheffield's office, intending to do some last tidying up in there before heading off to bed. He walked over to the desk. That's when he saw it: A tear-stained envelope with the words "To Mr. Sheffield, Love, Miss Fine" written on it. Niles didn't have to open the letter to know that it was bad news.

The butler knew he shouldn't open it. Maxwell had threatened to fire him several times already for doing exactly that. But this time it was different. Niles wasn't reading this letter to satisfy his adolescent need to know all that went on in the mansion. "If I don't read this," he told himself, "Miss Fine might leave for good. I could lose my best friend." So Niles carefully opened the envelope. The letter was difficult to read for all the tear stains and cross-outs Miss Fine had made.

Dear Mr. Sheffield,
Consider this a combination resignation/Dear John letter. Your brother Nigel has asked me to marry him, and I've decided to accept. Please understand that this was a difficult decision to make. I know I said I understood about "the thing," but the truth is, it broke my heart. I thought you wanted to be with me, but now I can see that you don't. If you decide to marry Miss Babcock, you have my blessing.

Please tell the children I love them, and that this has nothing to do with them. I will call when I can. Tell Niles I will miss him terribly. He is my best friend.
Love Always,
Fran Fine
PS:Nigel and I are eloping. I'm leaving on the QEII at midnight from Pier 17. If you really meant what you said in Paris, this is your last chance to show it. Otherwise, I wish you all the best.

Niles stared at the letter. He always knew it might come to this. His boss' inability to make up his mind had finally cost him the woman he loved. Even so, he couldn't believe she would just leave this way. Immediately, he reached for the phone to call his boss, but he caught sight of the clock. 11:45. There was no time to involve Maxwell. Niles would have to stop Fran himself.

Without stopping to think, Niles grabbed his coat and ran towards the door. When he opened it, he saw C.C. standing there. "Niles, do you know where Maxwell left the contracts for--"

"I've got no time to talk, Babcock. I've got to stop Miss Fine from making a terrible mistake," Niles replied, already halfway out the door.

"What, is Nanny Fine wearing white after Labor Day?" C.C. asked sarcastically.

"This letter explains everything. You can read it in the car. Now COME ON!" Niles said. His head was spinning. How could this have happened? What could he possibly say to her to make her stay?

C.C. and Niles drove to the pier in absolute silence. It was the longest they'd ever gone without exchanging insults.

C.C. read the letter. It left her speechless. She knew she should be thrilled. Nanny Fine was marrying another man! So what if it was Nigel? Just as long as it wasn't Maxwell. And besides, she had even given Maxwell her blessing if they decided to marry. But somehow, C.C. couldn't help feeling a little sad. Could it be that, deep down, she knew that Nanny Fine was really the right woman for Maxwell?

When they arrived at the dock, Niles turned to her and said, "Stay here. I can't imagine you'd be of any help in what I have to do now."

C.C. was surprised. "Don't you dare tell anyone this, 'Butler Boy,' but I would actually miss that little floozy if she left."

Niles was shocked. But he knew that if he breathed a word of it to anyone, she'd tell about the time she caught him dancing in his underwear. Then again, he'd also tricked her into clucking like a chicken once, so they were about even in the blackmail department. Right now, Niles was too worried to think about torturing Miss Babcock.

He checked his watch. 11:55. Were they too late? Had Niles come all this way only to lose his best friend? Just then Niles saw a woman with huge hair carrying a bouquet of flowers, frantically heading for the dock. Quickly he got out of the car. "Fran, wait!"

Fran's heart skipped a beat. A man with an English accent was calling her name. Had Mr. Sheffield come to rescue her? She turned to see Niles holding the letter in his hand. She was torn between wanting to kill that yenta for reading something so private, and being grateful that someone had come to stop her, even though it wasn't the person she was expecting.

She walked back towards the car. C.C. got out, too. Fran couldn't help but be a little surprised to see her. Not only did she have every reason to want her to marry Nigel, but Fran couldn't believe she and Niles had actually driven all this way without killing one another.

Niles took a deep breath. "I don't know exactly what happened between you and Mr. Sheffield in Paris, but it's obvious that whatever it was has hurt you deeply. But the way to deal with that hurt isn't by marrying a man you don't love."

Fran got defensive. "Who says I don't love Nigel?! You have some nerve telling me who I can marry!"

"You couldn't possibly love Nigel the way you love Mr. Sheffield. I've seen the way you look at him sometimes," Niles replied.

"But I've been waiting four years for him to make his move! Mr. Sheffield doesn't know what he wants; Nigel does," Fran said. She couldn't believe she was standing here defending herself when she should be getting on that ship.

"If there's one thing I know for sure, it's that Maxwell Sheffield loves you. So much so that it scares him. That's why he keeps pushing you away. He just needs time," Niles said. He could tell that Fran was growing impatient.

"But what about me?! Don't I have a right to be happy? I'd like to have kids before I get so old people start calling me Sylvia!" Fran exclaimed. "Look, I've got a boat to catch."

"If you truly want to leave, I won't stop you," Niles said. "But I would like you to remember that there are three children asleep in their beds tonight who need you."

"I know," Fran said. "And it's breaking my heart to leave them like this. But it's not like I'll never see them again. After all, when I marry Nigel, I'll be their aunt."

"Then you really want to leave, Miss Fine -- Fran?" Niles asked as they hugged.

"Yes," Fran replied. "Take good care of those kids for me, OK?" she said, fighting back tears. Niles nodded.

Fran walked over to C.C. "Look, I know we haven't been the best of friends. I don't even really know why you're here. But if you and Mr. Sheffield decide to get married, I'll be happy for you. Take good care of him." Fran extended her hand.

C.C. took it. "Good-bye, Nanny Fine," she said flatly. "Good luck in London. I'm sure you and Nigel will be very happy."

"Thank you, Miss Babcock," Fran said. She turned to leave, but before she could take a step, she saw the ship pulling out of the harbor.

i really like that one it;'s proply the best on of that ep and i like the fact that niles and cc were involed keep going

Thanks for the compliment, smokeypeach. I've read a lot of continuation fics for this episode, and a lot of them are very similar. They all have Max reading the letter and going down to the dock and popping the question to Fran. I wanted to do something different. Besides, I love Niles! ;) Ok, on with chapter 2.

Very reluctantly, Fran went home with C.C. and Niles. She made a big show of being upset with Niles for making her miss her boat, but she was secretly happy to know that someone cared enough to stop her from leaving. Niles suggested it would be best if no one told Maxwell about what had happened. Fran quickly agreed. C.C., of course, took more convincing. All Niles had to do was mutter the word "chicken" under his breath, and she was quiet. He dropped C.C. off at her apartment, then he and Fran continued home.

"Well I think I'm just going to head upstairs," Niles said as soon as they were inside the house.

"OK," Fran said. "Thanks for...everything." She kissed him on the cheek.

"Don't mention it, Miss Fine. I'm just glad you're staying. You coming?" he asked as he started up the stairs.

"Nah, I think I'll watch a little TV first," Fran replied.

"OK, 'Night," Niles said. With that, he went upstairs.

Fran walked into the living room. Unfortunately, it was quite dark and difficult to see where she was going. Just as Fran reached the couch, she tripped and fell.

Luckily, Maxwell had fallen asleep on the couch. The sound of a voice crying "Ouch!" woke him immediately. He looked down and saw Fran lying there on the floor. "Miss Fine, are you all right?" Max asked as he helped her up.

"Yeah, I can walk, I think," Fran said. She tried to take a step, only to find that she was wrong.

"Where were you?" Maxwell asked, hoping the question didn't sound like an interrogation.

"Nigel had to go back to London suddenly, so Val and I went to a late movie," Fran lied.

"Oh," said Maxwell. "Can I help you upstairs?" he asked as he took her in his arms. Fran giggled. "Don't worry, Miss Fine, I won't let you go," he said as he carried her upstairs.

"Oh, I know you won't," Fran said with a smile.
THE END!!

very nice chicken lol thats not ganna get old anyway i liked that you didnt get them together fran and max in this one like some people did u should write more fanfiction

Originally posted by smokeypeach
very nice chicken lol thats not ganna get old anyway i liked that you didnt get them together fran and max in this one like some people did u should write more fanfiction

Thanks again!! Yeah I know what you mean. I'm tired of reading stories based on this episode that involve Max proposing. It's like, can't they come up with anything different?

I'm already working on an alternate ending for "The Engagement" basically exploring what might've happened if Max hadn't gotten robbed on his way home. I'll let you know when that's done.

Kristen