I'm back at it again. I was watching YouTube clips of Gossip Girl on the last episode, and I like the statement that Blair said to Dan about "Could you love another mans baby" and I had a thinking moment. This story by no means is way to highlight how Dan will always be in the friend zone, but to show the base of where they start as opposed to a back of a limo. The biggest reason I love DAIR is because they can have an actual adult conversation, and accept that they don't agree but appreciate the others opinion to honestly think about it. I'm a sucker for friendships turning into something more, but I basically wanted to write this story based off of that line that Blair said to Dan because I have a firm belief that it takes a real man to love another man's baby.
Synopsis: Dan and Blair go through the struggles of parenthood, all while dealing with their own personal issues.
I wish I could take full credit for the idea, but this story was largely INSPIRED BY: JackElizabeth
The Little Prince
**The Prelude to a Prince
Beginning to stir awake from sleep, Blair's eyes fluttered open to see the sun peeking through the shades of her hospital room. The sounds of the machines beeping rang loudly in her ears as she looked over to see the baby's heartbeat beating at a steady pace. A slight smile came to her face as she began to feel nervous and anxious all wrapped up into one on the oncoming arrival of her son. Thoughts flooded her in that moment as to whether he'd be a lover of the arts like she or would he be interested in the thrill of life as opposed to the simplicity of it all, so many ideas as to who this little boy could be came to her all at once. Feeling movement come from her bedside, Blair looked over to see Dan moving around in the stiff chair by her bedside as he tried to make a sofa out of rock that was the hospital chairs. His eyes began to open once he felt her move in her bed, which caused Dan to sit up in his chair to face her. Wiping away the sleep from his eyes, Dan checked himself to make sure he had no signs of drool on his shoulder before he looked over at the baby heartbeat monitor to see that everything was going as planned.
"He's healthy as can be" Blair smiled proudly "Should I say that? I don't want to jinx my own child" she then asked in correction.
"I think it's safe to say. The doctor hasn't said otherwise" Dan replied as he began to massage his bottom "You'd think with as much as you pay to give birth, the chairs in this place should be more comfortable" he commented
"Yes because you should be more comfortable than me" Blair replied sarcastically "I'm just going to basting a turkey while you muster up encouraging words that will do little to help be survive the excruciating pain of birth" she said
"You've been thinking about for some time" Dan laughed "I thought you were opting for the epidural?" he asked
"Once I hit four centimeters, I will be. I want to be well medicated for this birthing" Blair replied as she laid her head back on the pillow to look on at Dan "Have you heard from Chuck?" she asked after a few moments of silence.
"He was at the airport last I spoke to him. He should be about twenty minutes away" Dan told her as he looked on at his phone to see if he had any messages
"This is all coming together. Chuck, me, and the baby" Blair smiled as she got lost in her fantasy world that only she could go to at moments like this "You know he's been looking into a house for us. Nothing close to the city, but in the suburbs of New York because the city is no place to raise a growing boy" she smiled
"That sounds like the smart thing to do" Dan smiled weakly as he was once again reminded that it was her fantasy coming to life while it was his nightmare. "Statistics show that the suburbs produce some of the finest citizens, so you should be lucky that Chuck and you can raise a productive citizen" he babbled on aimlessly
"True" Blair thought for a moment "I mean you probably think that Chuck can't change a diaper to save his life" she laughed
"Oh, I've seen that practice, and I can testify that maybe a nanny would suit your needs" Dan laughed awkwardly as Blair just looked on at him with wondrous eyes "I'm scared. I know it's too late in the game for this but…sometimes I worry about not being the mother this baby needs" she said as tears welled up in her eyes before Dan moved closer towards her.
"Don't say that" Dan told her "I know for a fact that you will be" he said
"How can you be sure? I mean I know things are great with my mother right now, but I remember a time of feeling so lonely. I remember days where being in my own skin was so suffocating, and my own mother couldn't see that she had much to do with it" Blair said
"Because….I've seen your heart. I know this may sound weird, but I've seen it in moments, where you haven't even realized it" Dan smiled trying to fight the tears as his love for her was beginning to seep through although he did all he could to keep in check "You're caring, you're loving, you're honest, you're loyal…with all of those traits, can you honestly be a bad mother?" he questioned as she just laughed
"I know I haven't been the easiest to be around these past few months, but I'm really glad to have you as my friend" Blair smiled as she placed her hand on top of his "You, Dan Humphrey, are a class act that any girl would be lucky to have" she said as she began to get a bit sleepy.
"Yeah, that's me. The guy that any girl would want" Dan sighed as he spoke to himself while he pulled the covers up on a sleepy Blair. "You should rest up" he said tucking away a strand of hair from his face.
"No, I want to be here when Chuck comes. He'll be so excited, and scared at the same time" Blair said but her droopy eyes proved that she was still so tired "You have to keep talking to me so I don't fall asleep" she told him
"I think you're all ready falling asleep" Dan laughed softly as she did her best to stay awake
"I'm not" Blair replied as she drifted off to sleep
"Just rest. I'll wake you up, when he comes" Dan said before he kissed her on top of her forehead as he just watched her sleep so peacefully, knowing the battle had yet to come to her body. It was times like this, Dan questioned why he would even bother to be here with her since she was clearly looking forward to seeing Chuck walk through those doors. Why be the fool? Why love her while she loved someone else? Dan kept asking himself as he sat by her bedside while she was preparing to give birth to another man's baby. Each time he asked the questions, Dan hated that each question ended with the same answer that had been his driving force to even look her in the eyes. It was because he loved her. He died a million times within himself, but his love for her was the only thing that made him a kamikaze in his own suicide.
Screaming out in pain, Blair gritted her teeth tight as the contractions began to come on stronger. Holding her hand, Dan looked around nervously as he wanted to find something that would calm her down but found nothing in sight. Reaching for the towel, Dan brushed off beads of sweat that began to form on the top of her head as Dan racked his head with how he could be of some use to her. Breathing heavily, Blair braced herself for the next burst of pain as the breaks in between were becoming shorter and shorter as time progressed. Immediately entering the room, the Doctor began to put on his gloves before pulling up his stool to the stirrups Blair had her legs in. Sticking his hand inside of her to check how far along she had dilated, Dan had always been freaked out by how it all looked with the doctor being down in the lady areas, but at this point Dan just wanted the doctor to pull the baby out. Clenching her eyes shut as she laid back on the pillow, Blair was unable to hide the pain she was in as tears ran down her cheeks.
"She's ready" The doctor said as he turned to the nurse as Dan looked on with alarm all over his face.
"What do you mean? as in birth?" Dan asked the doctor
"That's exactly what I'm referring to" The doctor said as the nurse brought in the birthing tray as they began to prep.
"Chuck. He's going to miss it" Blair said as she looked up at Dan with a look of hopelessness.
"The baby is coming though" Dan told her as he looked over at the doctor and nurse.
"Could you just find him?" Blair asked in between deep breaths before Dan just finally obliged her wishes
"We don't have much time. Call whoever you need to call, and get him here" The doctor said as he brought the tray over towards the bedside before Dan quickly made his way out of the room. Quickly pulling his phone out, Dan scrolled down his contact list before he finally selected Chuck to call. Pacing the floor with the phone pressed against his ear, Dan kept mumbling to himself, just hoping that with each ring Chuck would pick up the phone.
"Hello" Chuck answered the phone, which caused Dan to celebrate to himself that he had least did something useful for the night.
"Chuck, hey. Blair is about to have the baby, where are you?" Dan asked
"I'm going to be a bit longer" Chuck sighed
"How much longer? Blair is about to give birth and she's asking for you" Dan asked
"I'm going to be a bit longer Humphrey!" Chuck angrily groaned
"Okay well, do you have a time period that I can tell Blair because she's a little anxious and scared" Dan replied "This isn't about you right now, this is about Blair" he then said before a moment of silence came between them on the phone that caused Dan to become alarmed.
"I won't be able to make it. I'm sorry, but Humphrey….I can't. I can't do this" Chuck said trying to fight back the tears that were coming to him
"What? Chuck, she's giving birth as we speak. She's expecting you to walk through that door so that you can whisk her and the baby off to your supposed house" Dan replied in disbelief
"I love her, tell her that. I never meant to hurt her, but I can't" Chuck cried "Take care of her Humphrey" he said before he ended the call. Standing in disbelief, Dan looked on at the phone just wondering what the hell had just happened in this phone call. For months on end, Chuck and Blair had planned their lives together after much time apart, and now of all times he chose to say his goodbyes. Feeling as if he was fading into the abyss of the hustle and bustle of the hospital scene, Dan was quickly torn out of his reverie by the sounds of Blair's scream coming from her hospital room. Putting his phone away, Dan knew that he didn't have time to worry about what had just happened. Rushing back into the room, Dan was immediately met at the door by the nurse, in which he was given a pair of scrubs before he was allowed to enter back into the room. Immediately noticing Blair's drenched hair from all the sweat, Dan made his way over to Blair's side. Hesitant at first, Dan struggled with whether to hold her hand or not in his head before he finally just bite the bullet and grabbed her hand.
After a few minutes of pushing, Blair felt the overall tired feeling hit her body as each push took so much out of her. Making sure to give positive encouragement on her progress, Dan wanted to make sure that she wasn't annoyed by his presence as she had to suffer through the most pain filled experience. Resting her head on his hand in between breaks of pushing, Blair did all she could to find the strength within to give the final push that would allow her to see her baby boy. The doctor stayed burried beneath the cloth at the stirrups, but on occasion he'd poke his head up to look over at Dan, hoping that Dan would be able to help Blair through the final stages.
"You're doing good" Dan told Blair as she shook her head in disagreement
"This hurts. It's hurts so bad" Blair said in between tears
"I know, but you're doing an unbelievable job" Dan smiled "You keep doing this and you're going to be holding a bundle of joy in your arms" he said trying to take her mind off of things
"Okay Blair. Give me one big push" The doctor instructed
"You can do this. I know you can do this" Dan told her as he kissed the top of her forehead "Squeeze my hand, you can break it if you have to. Just one big push" he told her as she began to brace herself for the big push. Preparing herself, Blair breathed deep before she gave one big push that took everything out of her. Hearing the sounds of her baby boy crying, Blair looked over at Dan with a look of surprise on her face as it all seemed to come together for her. Cleaning the baby off, the nurse wrapped the baby up in a blanket before bringing him over to Blair and Dan.
"Ms. Waldorf, meet your baby boy" The doctor smiled as Dan and Blair looked on with amazement at the baby boy
"He's perfect" Blair smiled at her son as tears welled up in her eyes
"Blair…he's gorgeous" Dan smiled as they looked at each other
"What's his name?" The nurse asked "That's if you thought of one all ready" she said
"Nicholas Elijah Bass" Blair told the nurse as she didn't once tear her eyes away from her son. "Is Chuck here?" she then asked Dan before a wave of nervousness came over him as the nurse walked out of the room.
"We'll let you bond with the baby before we get him all good and ready. A nurse will be back to go over some pamphlets for you" The doctor said before he made his way out of the room, leaving Dan and Blair alone.
"Chuck should be here by now. JFK has horrid traffic, but I'm sure he's in the lobby" Blair said as she cooed at her son
"Yeah, I think Chuck had more than just bad traffic" Dan muttered as Blair looked at him with worried eyes
"Go get him" Blair said "His son is here" she told him
"Blair, listen to me…" Dan began to say before Blair just shook her head in disbelief as it began to register to her.
"No. No. No" Blair cried "He promised me" she said trying not to disturb her son
"I know, but he just…he couldn't" Dan said trying to make Chuck's actions sincere, when in all actuality they were as low as can be.
"He's supposed to be here. He's supposed to be a father to him" Blair cried as she did her best to keep it together but found it was hard to do so "How can I do this without him?" she said in disbelief as Dan hugged her while she sobbed.
It hadn't been long before everyone had filed in and out of Blair's room to get a glimpse of Nicholas, while Dan stood off in the back ground just watching Blair maintain a brave face. Inside Dan it killed Dan to see Blair in such pain as she had to come up with clever excuses as to why Chuck wasn't with her. With each lie she told, Dan felt tempted to go on a tirade about the worthlessness that was Chuck Bass, but knew that was the last thing that she needed because she was barely holding it together as is. Escaping the love fest that was going on in Blair's room, Dan thought to escape and run, but found his feet taking him in an opposite direction that he just couldn't explain. Looking on at the little boy that was barely a day old, Dan swore this moment felt so surreal to him, like he was destined to be in that moment.
While watching Serena and Lilly smile over the little baby, Charlie couldn't help but notice the moments of sadness that Blair conveyed on her face as no one was watching. Making it a habit to focus on Blair, Charlie grew to realize that Chuck's absence had meant more than him being on a simple business trip like Blair had proclaimed him to be. Feeling a bit out place, Charlie couldn't help but feel weird as she knew deep down Blair had no real connection to her, and the little connection she did have to Charlie was based on pure suspicion and dislike by the lies Charlie had all ready told to her Serena and Lilly that she just couldn't chalk up as little white lies like the rest of them. Slowly exiting the room so that no one would notice, Charlie breathed a sigh of relief as she was able to escape all things baby for the moment but looking down the hallway she was surprised to see Dan standing by the looking glass of the newborn babies. For the most part, Charlie and Dan still had their little flirtation conversations, but Charlie could sense a mutual attraction between them. Dan had put all relationships on hold since learning of Blair's pregnancy, which made Charlie even more thrilled to see that that the final product was out so she could have some bit of a decent shot to pursue Dan. Coming up to join Dan, Charlie stood beside him for what felt like hours on end as she just watched Dan look on at the little boy.
"I take it the generic answer Blair gave wasn't the whole truth" Charlie said finally breaking the silence "Chuck backed out" she then concluded
"It doesn't matter" Dan said not tearing away from the little boys gaze
"It does in some way, I mean Blair will have to be a single parent….but Dan, you're free. You're free to live your life. You're free to just be" Charlie said as she grabbed on to Dan's hand "To be with anyone you want without obligation" she said. Looking at their hands linked together, Dan felt so tempted to take this as his sign to run, but this pressing feeling inside of him kept his feet firmly planted on the ground in which he stood.
"I can't" Dan replied as he slowly pulled his hand away
"Why?" Charlie asked "There's nothing stopping you" she reasoned
"There is Charlie…there's something stopping me" Dan said trying not to raise his voice at the young woman "I know I may sound stupid, but I can't just walk away" he told her
"Because of what? Blair?" Charlie asked
"No" Dan replied as he looked at Charlie then back at Nicholas "Because of him" he said
"She'll never love you, not in the way you want her to" Charlie told him
"That's fine. I'm okay with that" Dan said turning to look at Charlie to show the tears that were welled up in his eyes before he looked back at Nicholas.
Slowly but surely, people began to realize that the absence of Chuck had turned into a full blown disappearance on his behalf. Blair had clung to hope that something had kept Chuck from her, but with postings of spotting Chuck Bass on the Riveira with groups of girls surfaced on Gossip Girl, Blair had begun to realize the harsh truths that those around her had all ready known. Once the three days were up in the hospital, Blair wanted nothing more than to be stowed away in her bedroom with Nicholas so they could avoid all the bad press that was going to come her way. Still tied to Louis, Blair knew that she would always be a target of publicity since their unfortunate demise as a power couple on the rise. After a days worth of getting adjusted back into her new routine as a mother, Blair feared night time the most as she knew that's when the real work began for her. Still a bit sore from the whole birthing process, Blair gingerly got comfortable in her bed after eating as rest was becoming the only thing she solely needed. Just as Blair had begun to drift off to sleep, Blair heard Nicholas's cries come from the baby monitor. Blair's first instinct was to call out for help from Dorota or her mother, but since her mother was away on a business trip and Dorota was due to come in at five in the morning; Blair was left with herself as the only option. Normally Blair would've have been fine with getting up to take care of her son so early in the morning, but her body had felt like it was lagging to even do simple things such as motion to move in any position. Knowing that she had no time to complain, Blair slowly got out of bed and made her way to the next room to find Dan sitting her rocking chair, putting Nicholas back to sleep. Still dressed in his work clothes, Blair couldn't help but feel as if she was seeing a mirage.
"Humphrey, what are you doing here?" Blair asked a bit groggily as she made her way over to sit in the other rocking chair.
"I'm good friends with the security team. They mentioned you looked like you hadn't showered in the past few days, so I knew I had to make a bee line to the penthouse" Dan teased her
"I think that's your polite way of saying I look like crap. Well, rest assure…I feel like crap" Blair sighed as she just watched how Dan was with Nicholas "You've got the magic touch. Nicholas would've still been crying with me. It took me six tries at making a bottle, and he still didn't drink it" she told him
"Oh, he'll drink it. He just wants to do it on his own time" Dan smiled on at Nicholas
"Have you heard anything from Chuck?" Blair asked with opportunistic eyes while Dan was unsure to even answer or just scream that Chuck was never coming back.
"No" Dan replied as he kept his attention on the sleeping Nicholas before he got up to put Nicholas back in his bassinet. "You can go back to sleep, I'll look after Nicholas" he said as he took his dress jacket off to put on the chair before he loosened up his tie.
"You don't have to" Blair sighed
"I know, but I want to" Dan said as he walked over to help Blair up from her seat and began to usher her back to her room as he helped her back into bed. "Now get sleep" he told her
"Nicholas is a hand full" Blair warned him in protest
"I think I can handle it" Dan told her "Now just rest" he said to her as he looked down at her
"Fine, if you insist" Blair sighed as she closed her eyes before Dan turned to walk away from her "Will you be around?" she then asked causing Dan to turn around to look at her. Taking a moment to consider his answer.
"Yes, Waldorf. I'll be around" Dan smiled weakly at her before he left the room.
Author's Note: Thank you all for your reviews, and positive feedback on the past two chapters. I can tell by the reviews that I've read that most of you will be in for a BIG SHOCK, and I love that I have you at that point. I just have to say keep in mind what I've told you from the beginning (no pun intended) NOTHING IS AS IT SEEMS. I would give away spoilers, but I really love that you guys are in this guessing mode, so I'll be cruel for a little bit. I did want to mention that we're coming to an end pretty soon, I believe we have 5 CHAPTERS LEFT, so be sure to keep checking back in. I have to be honest, I'm not sure if I will do a third story, I'm on a 49% mode because I go by reviews and gradually they're dying down, so I'm not sure. Again, I'll go by what the people want, I have enough material to carry me into a third story, but if not then I'll wrap it up by the last and final chapter. The last chapter will be called "The Goodbye Gossip Girl" and will be centered around the opening up Victrola, and I will say more shockers on the way that I'll leave some clues to it.
**A character will die.
**A question posed since the first story "FROM THE BEGINNING" will be answered.
**Georgina will damage one more person in her path.
**Another betrayal will come from someone unexpected.
**Couples will be dealing with their futures.
**Nate will be exposed. (his conversation with Katie in THE GRANDFATHER has more meaning than you think)