It had finally happened. One of the elite group of the UES was pregnant. The problem was, after their junior year summer, they had all bonded together and they were protecting the secret. No one, not even Gossip Girl could find out who the real pregnant one was. Every single member of the group, now made up of one Chuck Bass, one Nate Archibald, one Blair Waldorf, one Serena van der Woodsen, and one Dan Humphrey, claimed to be sick with the flu and at odd moments, one or more would duck out of the classroom, complaining of not feeling well.
All five of them would go to the doctor's office and into the examination room. Until the pregnant girl began to show and could no longer hide it, they would protect her secret. They wanted her to be the one to let the news out on her own terms, not because some gossiping busy body had overheard the news and leaked it to the entire school. The new group of five had all developed a mutual respect for each other after that summer, when they had all come back from their respective places. Outside of school, Vanessa would join the group from time to time, but being around Dan and Nate was often harder for her than any of them realized, so she just claimed that she had to work.
Despite all of their protecting and all of their secret keeping, the day was soon coming when the pregnancy would no longer be able to be hidden and the school would know who had the bun in her oven. The pregnant girl was standing in front of the mirror in her bathroom in just a pair of couture sweatpants and a sports bra, examining her ever expanding waistline. Her lover, and the father of her baby, slipped into the bathroom, moving over to brush his fingers over the taut skin gently. She looked up at him and smiled, moving her head back against his chest.
"Can you believe we've been able to keep her a secret for five months, Dan?" she asked softly, her hand squeezing his.
He laughed softly, pressing a kiss to her cheek. "Hey, it could still be a boy!" he said, moving his arms around her. "But no. I can't. I wish we could keep it all to ourselves for a bit longer," he told her, holding her close.
Blair sighed and looked down, biting her lip. "I know. I'm scared, Danny," she admitted, her voice choking up with tears. "I want to keep her safe."
"Hey, shh, don't cry, babe," Dan rubbed her sides easily. "You're doing a great job of keeping her safe and you're going to continue doing a great job. Plus, you have the rest of us to help. Don't worry, okay? It's not good for you and it's not good for her." he looked up when someone knocked on the door before the door opened a bit and Serena stuck her head in.
"Hey, you two, the movie's about to start," Serena's eyebrows furrowed in concern when she saw the tears in Blair's eyes and looked up at Dan, who shook his head easily, his eyes widening a bit. Deciding to leave it alone, Serena gave Blair a bright grin. "What kind of popcorn do you and the munchkin want tonight, B?"
Blair sniffled a bit, wiping her eyes. "Kettle corn," she said, forcing her voice to sound strong as she leaned back against Dan.
"Kettle corn it is. I'll have it waiting," Serena winked at Dan before closing the bathroom door.
Blair smiled softly, pulling her hair back in a ponytail before letting out a soft gasp, her hand pressing tight against her swollen stomach.
"Babe? What is it?!" Dan asked, his hands moving to her hips, holding her up against him.
"Shh. Don't freak. She moved, that's all," Blair smiled, taking his hand and pressing it against the bump. "Can you feel her?" she asked, her voice soft.
Dan pressed his hand close, his fingertips gently stroking the soft skin. "Yeah! I can!" he said excitedly, looking down at where his hand rested against Blair. "Did you ever think we'd be here after last year?" he laughed softly.
"Considering I thought I hated you last year, Cabbage Patch? Hell no!" Blair tried to sound like her normal, bitchy self but couldn't help the giggle that escaped at the end of her sentence.
It was true what they said about the thin line between love and hate. Who knew the only reason Blair thought she hated Dan Humphrey with a passion was because she was jealous of what Serena had? After Serena and Dan broke up at the wedding and Serena and Nate had rekindled whatever it was that was between them in the Hamptons, Dan had tried to move on by hanging out with Vanessa and doing all sorts of things with her, but he could never get happy. Something always felt like it was missing. Vanessa wanted to think that it was because he wasn't over Serena, but something deep down told her that that wasn't the reason.
After Chuck had ditched her for the blond, Blair had tried to make the most of her vacation with the gorgeous guy she'd met at the airport, but she too had felt like something was missing. Cutting her vacation short after only a few days, she flew back to New York and wandered aimlessly around the city, trying to find things to do and people to occupy her time with. It had been a complete coincidence and totally unexpected when she'd run into Dan at a bookstore on the Upper East Side.
flashback
"What are you doing here, Brooklyn?" Blair forced herself to sound icy cool instead of surprised, which is how she felt bumping into him in the middle of the store.
Dan casually torn his eyes away from the back cover of the book he was browsing and flicked his gaze at her. "Buying a book. What does it look like I'm doing?" he asked, forcing himself to sound nonchalant even though his heart was racing at the site of her in a plaid skirt and tank top, the headband in her hair matching her skirt.
"I meant what are you doing out of Brooklyn? Don't you people have bookstores down there?" she sneered at him.
"Sure we do. I just felt like getting out of Brooklyn. If Vanessa came up with one more thing to "make me feel better", I was going to punch her lights out," he said, setting the book down before picking another up.
"Tsk tsk, Cabbage Patch. Such violence for such a wimp," Blair was giggling inside as she watched his facial expressions.
Dan snorted back a laugh, shrugging easily. "It's how I felt! God, it was one thing after another after another and I'm tired of it. I'm tired of the same old shit. I'm tired of feeling like nothing is right and nothing will ever be right again."
Blair stared at him for a moment, her mouth hanging open a bit. Leave it to the boy from Brooklyn to use the exact same words she would to describe how she was feeling. She sighed a bit, rubbing her forehead. "Do you, maybe, want to grab a coffee or something?" she asked him, praying that she wouldn't kick herself for it later.
Dan looked at her, trying to keep himself from looking too excited. "Yeah, sure. That sounds good," he said, finally choosing a book and following her out.
end flashback
That was how it had all started. Shared feelings over a cup of coffee. Blair had realized that day that Dan wasn't as "poor" as she'd thought him to be all along and she saw what her bestie has seen in him for all of those months. Dan realized that the cold, bitchy exterior was nothing more than Blair's way of trying to protect herself from all the hurt and anger she'd endured over the years. He'd slowly chipped through that without even realizing what he was doing and a few weeks after their meeting in the bookstore, he'd kissed her for the first time.
Things had progressed from there and by the time Serena and Nate returned from the Hamptons, Dan was spending most every night at Blair's with her. Chuck had finally surfaced from his suite and they'd all met at Blair's to "reconnect" and fill each other in and what had happened since the last time they'd seen each other. Chuck had tried to apologize to Blair for his actions, but she'd simply hugged him and thanked him. If he hadn't of ditched her, she and Dan never would've discovered their feelings for each other. Sure, the two were polar opposites and still fought like cats and dogs about some things, but they always made up before long. Blair couldn't stand to be mad at him, or have him mad at her, and he felt the same way.
"Can you believe graduation is only a few months away?" Blair had pulled one of Dan's t-shirts on over her belly and was currently snuggled against Dan's side, snacking out of the popcorn bowl in his lap.
"Do you think you're going to make it to graduation?" Chuck looked over at her, warily eyeing her stomach through the shirt she wore, barely managing to duck the pillow Blair threw his way. "Hey! I was just asking!"
Blair snorted, popping another piece of popcorn into her mouth. "She's not due until July. I'm sure I'll make it."
"Hey! For the last time, it could still be a boy!" Dan tugged gently on her ponytail, trying to hide the grin on his face.
"Why don't you two just find out and end this argument once and for all?" Nate spoke up, looking over at them with a chuckle.
"No! I don't want to find out!" Blair pouted, shaking her head. "I want it to be a surprise."
"But, B! How are we supposed to plan and decorate and all that?" Serena protested.
"We're going to keep the baby in with us for a bit in the beginning anyway, so we figured we'd just wait and do a nursery after he, or she, comes," Dan said, shrugging easily.
"Ugh, fine, but I am so not spoiling it until it comes out! I don't want my little niece or nephew to be stuck in yellow or green!" Serena shuddered.
Blair giggled, shaking her head at Serena. "That's fine. I don't care. We've got plenty of time. It's only March!"
June, 2009
Graduation Day
Blair leaned against the wall in her cap and gown, rubbing her back with her hand. Chuck stepped up behind her, moving his large hand to her back, helping her to rub it.
"You okay, Waldorf?" he whispered to her, looking down the hall to where Dan was getting his tassel from the headmaster.
Blair nodded easily. "Yeah, I'm fine. She's just moving all around and these shoes are killing my back," she whispered back to him.
"Why the hell did you wear heels anyway?" Chuck asked her, mildly amused.
Blair shot him a death glare. "Just because I'm pregnant doesn't mean I can't dress up for my graduation!" she hissed, her fingers digging into her back.
Chuck's eyebrow raised as he looked at her. "Are you SURE you're okay?" he asked.
She nodded, sinking against the wall again. "Yeah. Just nervous, I guess," she said, her face brightening as Dan made his way over. "Hi, baby!'
Dan grinned, kissing her quickly so he didn't smear her lipstick. "Hi. Ready to graduate?" he held her close, chuckling when he felt their baby wiggling around between them. "Well, he sure is!" he kissed her forehead.
Blair chuckled, shaking her head. "No, she didn't start moving until you came over. I think she knows it's her Daddy," she sighed, leaning against Dan, letting him take most of her weight. "I'm ready to be able to sit down," she admitted quietly.
Dan smiled, rubbing her back easily. "I know. Soon. They're getting ready to start," he looked up at Chuck, who was staring at Blair with concern. "Hey, why don't you go find Serena and get in line? I'll see you after," he said, giving her another quick kiss.
Blair nodded, smoothing her hair out. "Good idea. I'll see you after," she kissed him back. "I love you."
Dan grinned, giving her one last light squeeze. "I love you too," he watched her waddle towards Serena before looking up at Chuck. "What's up, man?" he asked him softly.
Chuck shook his head. "She just seemed off. She snapped at me over something stupid and her back's acting up."
Dan snorted, shaking his head. "I told her not to wear those heels. But would she listen?"
Chuck couldn't help it and joined in with Dan's laughter. "Does she ever listen?"
"Good point," Dan laughed, patting Chuck's back before they all got in line to head into the ceremony.
Before anyone knew it, the graduation ceremony was over and they were no longer high school students. As the group of five gathered outside the doors together, Nate was the first to speak up.
"Hey, for old times sake, why don't we head down to our room?" he asked, speaking of the empty classroom they had often commandeered for their lunchtime since Blair had gotten pregnant, out of the way of prying eyes and people that could possibly find out the secret.
"That sounds good to me," Blair grinned as they headed down to the familiar room, moving in and sitting down in the large, plush chair behind the desk, kicking her shoes off with a deep sigh. "Oh, that feels better."
Dan laughed, moving over and dragging a smaller chair over beside her, pulling her feet into his lap as he rubbed them for her, trying hard not to laugh when Blair let out a relieved moan. Serena grinned as she took her place on the desk, crossing her legs at the knees. Nate pulled a desk up close, collapsing down in it as Chuck did the same with another desk beside him.
"God, can you believe we're finally graduated?" Serena asked, shifting on the desk as she looked around.
"I can't believe how different everything is. I mean, from where I thought we'd all be when we graduated," Blair rubbed her belly easily, smiling softly as the baby shifted within her. "No Yale."
"At least not yet," Dan told her, rubbing her legs easily.
"Danny, we're not having this argument again," Blair looked over at him, glaring a bit. "We'll see what happens, okay? No promising anything, no guarantees. I could always go to NYU like you," she smiled softly, patting his hand with his.
"Okay. No more college talk," he agreed, squeezing her hand easily.
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm thirsty as hell. Who wants something to drink?" Nate got up, moving over to the door.
"Water, please!" Blair said.
"I'll go with you," Serena grinned as she slid off the desk, following Nate out of the room.
Nate grinned, grabbing her hand as they headed down the hallway to the vending machines.
Chuck looked over at Dan and Blair, their heads bent close together, Dan's hand on her large stomach, whispering quiet words between each other. Pulling his cell phone out, he took a few pictures of them with the phone's camera. As much as he had wanted Blair, and as much as he had loved her company (and well, if we're being honest, her body), he couldn't deny the look of happiness that was on her face at that moment. While it wasn't easy, being teenage parents would never be easy, the couple seemed to take everything in stride and make it all work for them.
Blair looked over then, catching his eye and giving him a grin before ducking her head against Dan's shoulder, sighing contentedly as he wrapped his arms around her. Chuck laughed softly, leaning his head back in the chair. Today was a good day.
July 4, 2009
"God, it's like 1000 degrees out today," Blair whined from her spot on the bench of Chuck's father's boat that was currently making its way up the East River to the Upper New York Bay where they would spend the day sailing around.
"I'm sorry, princess. I should've ordered a cooler day for you," Chuck quipped dryly as he looked over at her, pulling his sunglasses down a bit to look over his rims at her.
Blair glared at him, sticking her tongue out at him for a moment before starting to giggle, laying her head back against the side of the boat, her summer dress blowing in the breeze. She peeked her eyes open after a moment, watching Serena, who was dressed in a bikini and sarong, enviously. She jumped when Dan leaned over, his mouth close to her ear.
"You're the only one I'm looking at today. Can't take my eyes off of you," he told her before pressing a kiss to the spot below her ear.
Blair shivered a bit before retorting with "That's just because I'm doing such a damn good job with my imitation of a baby whale. I better not fall overboard or they'll try and hunt me," she looked up at him with a smirk.
Dan laughed, rolling his eyes as he shook his head at her. "You look nothing like a baby whale, B."
"He's right, bestie!" Serena plopped down on the seat beside Blair. "You look amazing for being so close to your due date. When are you going to come out and play, little baby who still has no name?" she leaned over, talking to Blair's belly as she rubbed it, giggling when she received a strong kick in response.
"I don't know, but she sure as hell isn't coming out that way," Blair groaned, rubbing the spot with a chuckle.
"How were those classes, Danny boy?" Nate asked with a gleeful chuckle, laughing hard when he watched Dan's face pale.
"I'm, uh, hoping that it'll make a difference with it being my own child, but man. That video was horrible!" Dan shuddered as Blair patted his hand with a laugh.
"I promise not to threaten you. Well, I promise to try not to threaten you," she said, moving her head to his shoulder. "Besides, you'll have plenty of support from our friends," she held his hand in hers.
"Your friends?" Serena spoke up, raising an eyebrow.
"Well, I mean, you guys have been there since the beginning. You helped protect her and keep her a secret until we absolutely couldn't anymore. I think it's only right that you guys are there for this," Blair spoke softly, her gaze on her and Dan's hands, locked together.
"It's not like you all have to get a front row view of all that's happening," Dan quickly reassured Nate and Chuck, looking over at them. "The room she'll be in has a couch that's off to the side and out of the way. We just thought you guys should all be there to meet him when he arrives."
"Wow," Nate said softly, looking over at them suddenly very glad that he had his sunglasses on.
"I don't know what to say other than … I mean, we're honored you guys would think of including us. I don't know if I exactly want to see Blair's, you know what looking like that," Chuck teased. "But we'd love to be there with you."
Blair grinned, looking over at Chuck and Nate, nodding her head. "Thank you," she said, shifting up off the bench to move over and kiss their cheeks.
"No, thank you," Nate said, hugging Blair easily.
"You too of course, Goldilocks," Dan teasingly pulled Serena's hair. Whatever romance that had been between the two had long since evaporated and an incredible friendship remained in it's place.
Serena laughed, throwing her arms around Dan and hugging him tightly, her face pressing against his shoulder to muffle her happy sob. Blair giggled, moving over and rubbing Serena's back as she sat down. "Okay, okay! Enough of this! It's supposed to be a celebration and a party!"
"Which is Queen B's way of saying she's hungry and ready to eat!" Chuck teased as he got up and head below deck.
Blair grinned, snuggling down against Dan as Serena got up and moved over to sit with Nate, curling up in his lap. She shifted, biting her lip as she rubbed her side, trying to rub out the sudden cramp.
"Babe? Are you okay?" Dan looked down at her, tipping his sunglasses up into his hair.
"I think so. I think it's just a hunger pain," she said, looking up at him with a smile.
He laughed, helping her up off the bench and into the dining room. "Well then, I think we should eat!"
Blair laughed, following him in and settling herself into a chair, brushing her curls back out of her face. She shifted, reaching for her napkin when she let out a low cry, her upper body hunching forward over her belly.
"Blair?!" Dan turned, hurrying over to her side, his hand reaching out and grasping hers.
"I think that was a contraction," she said quietly, gripping his hand in fear. "We're in the middle of the bay, Danny! This can't be happening now!" she cried.
"Whoa, hey, calm down," Dan said soothingly, rubbing her back. "If you are in labor, we've still got time. Remember what that teacher said? First babies can take hours. So just relax. Besides, it could be those false contractions again. You were having them on and off last night."
"And this morning," Blair's eyes widened and she looked up at Dan. "Oh god. What if they weren't the false ones?! The doctor said they could be irregular to start!"
Dan stared at her for a moment before his hand squeezed hers gently. "Honey, listen to me. Everything is going to be okay. We're not that far out. We'll have Chuck tell the captain to turn around and we'll head to the hospital, okay? I'll call Jenny and have her and Dad meet us there with your hospital bag. It's all packed, right?"
Blair took a deep breath, trying to calm herself down and nodded. "Yes, it's in the closet. We finished the other night. It's got the two outfits for the baby in it too. The pink one we like and the blue one."
"Okay, good," he smiled at her, giving her a quick kiss. "See? There's nothing to panic about." he looked up, motioning Serena, who had been watching them from across the table, over. "I'm going to go talk to Chuck, okay? I'll be right back," he leaned over. "Try and keep her calm, please. I'll be right back!"
"I will!" she assured him, patting his back as she sat down beside Blair, holding her hand tightly. "This is so exciting, B! You're going to have your baby. I get to be an Auntie!" she told her excitedly.
Blair couldn't help but grin, her hand clutching Serena's hand. "Godmother. Not just Auntie," she said hopefully.
Serena gasped. "Me?! But what about Jenny? Or Vanessa?"
Blair smiled. "We're going to ask Jenny too. She'll have two godmothers and two godfathers since we didn't want to have to try and choose between Nate and Chuck. Dan said things with Vanessa have been tense ever since we found out about the …" her voice trailed off and she started to panic. "Oh god, here's another one."
"Okay, it's okay. Don't panic," Serena rubbed her back. "Just breath like they taught you in class. Dammit, I should've gone to one of those with you, I have no idea how to do this!" she let Blair squeeze her hand until it was over. "Better?"
Blair nodded. "It's gone," she said softly.
Meanwhile, Dan had headed into the galley, his face pale and his hands shaking. "Chuck. We have a problem!'
Chuck turned away from Nate and looked over at Dan, his eyebrow going up. "Dude, you don't look so good. What's wrong?"
"Blair's in labor. We need to turn around and head back to the dock," Dan told him.
"Holy shit!" Chuck and Nate chimed in unison. "Okay, let me go tell the captain to turn around, we'll be back there soon!" Chuck headed to tell the captain what was going on while Nate moved over, patting Dan's shoulder.
"It'll be okay, man. Women were made to do this kind of stuff. We'll be at the hospital before you know it," he reassured the soon-to-be father.
"Can you call Jen and my dad? Ask them to go grab Blair's hospital bag and then meet us at the hospital? The bag's in her closet," Dan said, taking a few deep breaths to calm himself.
"Of course. You go back to Blair and I'll handle that," Nate assured him, heading to the upper deck to try and get a cell signal while Dan headed back into the dining room to Blair.
"How're you holding up, babe?" he asked, sitting down on her other side, smiling softly when she grabbed his hand.
"They're six minutes apart, Dan," Serena told him quietly, her hand rubbing the hand that Blair was clutching her with.
Dan's eyes widened a bit and he bit his lip, pressing a kiss to the back of Blair's hand. "We've still got time, baby. Chuck's having them turn the boat around as we speak," he told her, moving his forehead towards her, resting his against the side of her head. "I told you we'd probably get a holiday baby. He wants to make the biggest entrance possible, just like his mother," he told her affectionately.
Blair laughed softly, bringing a hand up to cup his cheek. "SHE wants to make the biggest entrance possible, you mean," she leaned against him. "It hurts, Danny. I don't know if I can do this," she whispered.
"Of course you can!" Dan said firmly, his arm circling around her shoulder. "I know that you can do this. It's going to be hard, we know this. I'm not going to lie to you. But you're so strong, I know you can do it. And just think, before long now, we're going to get to meet our baby. Our beautiful, amazing little boy or girl," he said, his head against hers.
Blair sniffled, nodding her head. "Oh," she whimpered, her hands suddenly clutching Dan and Serena's again.
"Shh, just breathe, you can do it," Dan started to breathe with her, the way they'd learned in their childbirth class, stroking her hand with his thumb as she breathed with him, her body relaxing when the contraction was finally over.
Serena smiled softly, biting her lip as she watched the two of them, her hand still gripping Blair's, offering her own words of encouragement to Blair every so often. Chuck and Nate came into the dining room, both talking at the same time.
"Your Dad and Jenny have been called, they'll meet us at the hospital with the bag," Nate said as Chuck opened his mouth to say, "The captain's turning around. Which hospital are we going to?"
"Sloane Maternity," Dan said, chuckling softly when he got blank looks from Chuck, Nate, and Serena. "It's a part of New York Presbyterian Hospital and Columbia's medical school."
"Can we just get there like, yesterday?" Blair rested her head against Dan's shoulder, her eyes closed.
"We'll be there soon. The car's waiting at the dock to take us straight there," Chuck assured her.
"Should we call your mom or anything?" Serena asked her.
"No! God, no, don't. We'll call her after. I don't want her there during. She'll try and control the whole thing," Blair said, shaking her head hard as she opened her eyes. "I know what I want and she'll try and keep me from doing it my way."
"Okay, honey. We won't call her," Serena assured her, rubbing her hand easily.
Blair suddenly sat up straight, her hands clenching like vices on Dan and Serena's hands. "Oh god. This isn't six minutes," she moaned, hunching forward.
Serena looked down at her watch while Dan leaned down with Blair, breathing with her again as he rubbed her back and whispered to her, encouraging her as best he could. Serena looked up at Nate and Chuck, chewing worriedly on her lip.
"What? What's going on?" Chuck demanded to know.
"They're only four minutes apart now," Serena said.
"Which means?" Nate looked confused.
"The closer the contractions are, the closer she is to delivery," Dan said, looking up at Chuck and Nate. "Usually, during delivery, they're only like one or two minutes apart."
"But she's only been in labor for like … a half an hour!" Chuck sputtered.
"Actually, more since like last night," Dan told him. "We thought they were just fake contractions again, but there's no way they were. They had to have been early labor for them to already be this close together."
"I don't want to have my baby on a boat!" Blair whimpered, shaking her head. "No offense, Bass."
Chuck laughed softly. "No worries, Waldorf. I really don't want you to have it on the boat either."
"Can't you just like, I don't know, hold your legs together?" Nate asked.
Dan choked back a snort as Blair glared at him. "No, Nathaniel, it doesn't work like that!" she hissed.
Serena laughed softly. "When it's time for it to come, it'll come. There won't be any stopping it. But your water hasn't broken yet, B, so that's a good thing! That'll buy some more time."
Dan grinned at Serena, nodding is head. "She's right, babe. We've still got time. Don't worry," he kissed her cheek.
"Don't worry he says. I have a human being trying to work its way out of my body and he tells me not to worry," Blair muttered, her head on Dan's shoulder.
Dan chuckled softly, biting his lip to keep quiet. Within an hour, they were back at the dock and Dan was helping Blair off the boat and into the car.
"Wait, dammit," Blair whimpered, hunching over at the end of the dock, one hand under her belly and the other clutching Dan's hand as she started to pant. "God, it hurts," she cried softly, biting her lip.
Dan wrapped his arm around her, holding her close as he gripped her hand. "I know, baby. We're almost there. Just a little bit more and we'll be there, I promise."
When the pain was finally over, Blair nodded and stood up, looking down with a soft gasp. "Uh, Danny?"
"What is it, babe?" he looked over at her as he opened the car door.
"My water just broke," Blair whispered, suddenly terrified.
"Here, I've got a towels!" Serena came running up behind them with an armful of towels.
"Good thinking," Dan grabbed a towel and laid it over the seat before helping Blair into the limo and down onto the towel. "Just hold on, honey, we'll be there soon," he said as Serena, Nate, and Chuck climbed into the limo.
"Go fast, I don't care if you draw police attention. Don't stop for anything," Chuck barked at the driver as he closed the door.
The limo took off like a shot, quickly heading into the city towards the hospital. Blair had shifted to lay on her side with her head in Dan's lap, her legs curled up as far as they could go, her hand pressed tight to her stomach. Dan was holding one of her hands in one of his while his other hand rubbed her hard stomach. Serena was sitting on the floor of the limo in front of Blair, holding her hand tightly.
"You're doing so great, B. Way better than I could ever do," Serena told her with a grin, rubbing her hand easily. "We're almost there and then we can finally meet this baby!"
"Bets up, Nathaniel. 500 says it's a girl," Chuck held his hand out to Nate.
"Fine, I'll take Humphrey's side. 500 says it's a boy," Nate smirked at Dan, shaking Chuck's hand.
"We'll know soon enough," Dan grinned back at Nate, rubbing Blair's belly with a bit more pressure when she started to moan again. "Shh, easy, baby. You're doing great," he started to breathe with her again, wincing when her grip on his hand tightened further.
Before any of them knew it, they'd reached the hospital and Chuck and Nate sprinted out, Chuck running in to tell the reception desk that Blair was there so that they could get ready for her while Nate got a wheelchair and brought it back out to them.
"No, I don't want to sit," Blair shook her head. "My back hurts too much. I can walk," she said firmly.
Nate and Dan exchanged a look before Nate pushed the wheelchair away and moved around to Blair's other side. "Okay, we'll get you in there," Nate said as he and Dan each supported a side and helped her in while Serena headed upstairs to maternity to try and find Rufus and Jenny.
Rufus looked up when Serena came running down the hall, still dressed in her bathing suit. "Serena! Where are they?!" he asked, catching her attention as she came into the waiting room, panting to catch her breath.
"They're coming. Blair wanted to walk so I think they're just getting into the elevator now. I don't think it'll be long," Serena said, running her fingers through her hair as she caught her breath.
"Well, we have clothes for all of you. We figured you probably didn't think to get changed out of your bathing suits on the boat," Rufus said, handing Serena a bag of clothes. "I remembered Dan once telling me that you all had clothes at Blair's apartment."
Serena smiled, hugging him tightly. "Thank you! You're right, we're all still in our bathing suits. It all happened so fast, we didn't have time to think about anything else."
Chuck looked up as the elevator dinged open and Blair, Nate, and Dan came off it. "What are you doing?! Why are you walking?!" he set down the clipboard he'd been trying to fill out and hurried over to her.
"Shut up, Bass. I'm having a baby, not dying. I can walk if I fucking want to!" Blair snapped at him before doubling over with another contraction.
"Oh, that sounds like active labor!" one of the nurses hurried over. "Hi, honey, my name's Stacey and we're going to get you taken care of, okay? Let's get you into a room and into a gown," she said, leading the trio down the hall. "How long have you been in labor for?"
Dan filled the nurse in on everything, explaining what they thought had happened from the night before and how long she'd been having contractions for today, including how long they were and how often they were coming. Stacey grinned at him, patting his shoulder easily. "You must be the Dad. Good job on keeping track of everything," she told him as they helped Blair onto the bed. "Okay, honey, I'm glad to see you have a dress on. Let's check you over and then we'll get you in a gown," Stacey pulled a pair of gloves on and started checking Blair over. "Oh my."
"What?!" Blair's head shot up off the pillow as she clutched Dan's hand, giving the nurse a worried look.
"Nothing, honey, don't worry. You're fully dilated, that's all. This is going to be a fast one," she looked at Blair. "Do you just want Dad in the room with you?"
"No. Our friends. There's three of them. We want them here with us," Blair panted breathlessly.
"I'll go get Serena and Chuck, don't worry," Nate kissed her forehead quickly and bolted out of the room while the nurse paged the doctor.
"Here, Dad, why don't you help Mom get into this gown?" Stacey handed Dan a hospital gown while she moved to start setting up for the delivery.
"Here we go, babe, nice and easy," Dan helped Blair to sit up as he pulled her sundress off, laying it on the chair beside the bed before helping her into the hospital gown. Once she was changed, he helped her lay back against the pillows before taking a cloth the nurse had set out, wiping the sweat off Blair's face. "You're doing so great. Can you believe our baby's almost here?" he kissed her forehead gently.
"No," Blair started to sob, clutching Dan close with her arms around his neck. "I'm so sorry I thought I ever hated you! I love you so much! I can't imagine doing this with anyone else."
"Shh, baby, it's okay. It's all okay," Dan hugged her close, cupping the back of her head as he kissed the side of her head. "I love you too. You know that." he looked up as Serena and Nate came into the room, followed by Chuck.
"Hey, bestie, what's the matter?" Serena moved over to Blair's other side, rubbing her shoulder easily.
"Just last minute hormones, I guess," Blair chuckled softly before another contraction began and she let out a soft squeal, her whole body tightening. "Oh god. I have to push. I need to push!" she cried.
"Not yet!" Dan's voice was sharp as he tried to get Blair's attention, making her look at him. "Not yet. You can't until the doctor gets here, baby. You gotta wait on the doctor," he told her, kissing her temple. "Breathe through it, you can do it," he started to pant with her, holding her hand tight in his.
Blair whimpered, wanting to protest before she started to listen to Dan, panting with him as the pressure slowly subsided, her head falling back against the pillows with a moan.
Stacey smiled softly. "That was great, sweetie. Just a few more minutes, the doctor's on her way now. A few more contractions and you'll be able to start pushing," she hooked Blair up to a fetal monitor, turning the sound on so that the baby's heartbeat filled the room with sound.
"Oh, wow," Nate said softly, looking over at the monitor. "It's so fast."
Blair smiled softly, opening her eyes to look up at Dan. "That's our baby, Danny. She'll be here soon," she brought her hand up, caressing Dan's cheek with her fingers.
Dan turned his head, kissing her fingers softly. "I know. I can't believe it. Pretty soon we'll get to see if we have a little girl or a little boy," he grinned, bending over to kiss her forehead.
"Pretty soon is right," Blair winced with the start of another contraction, her fingernails digging into Dan's hand as the pressure built again, trying hard not to push. "Oh god, I can't do this much longer," she whimpered.
"I hear we're getting ready to have a birthday party in here!" Dr. Allan came into the room with a bright smile as she looked at her patient.
"Yes, please. Now," Blair told her desperately as Stacey shifted the head of the bed up and moved her feet into stirrups.
"We're going to go sit over here," Nate said quickly as Chuck nodded in agreement before the two moved over to sit down on the couch, not wanting to see more than they had to.
Dan laughed softly, looking over at them before looking at Serena, who was standing strong at her best friend's side, holding her hand and listening to what the nurses were saying. He looked down at Blair, moving his free hand to brush a strand of hair out of her eyes, rubbing her cheek gently with his thumb. "You ready for this, baby?"
Blair opened her eyes to look at him. "Not really," she admitted in a soft voice. "But I'm ready for the pain to stop."
Dan laughed, leaning down to kiss her deeply, his hand holding hers tightly. "You're going to do great, I know you are. I'll be right here the whole time. I'm not going anywhere."
"You better not, Humphrey," Blair said teasingly as she returned the kiss before gasping. "Oh, god, she's coming," she whimpered, her head coming up off the pillows.
"Okay, Blair, listen to me. Nice and easy, push down where you feel pain. Push for ten seconds, take a break, and then push again. We'll try and push three times per contraction, okay?" Dr. Allan said, sitting down on the stool at the end of the bed, nodding towards Dan and Serena. "Help her out by counting for her, okay?"
Blair took a deep breath before pushing, letting out a quiet groan at the intensity of the sudden feeling, her hands tightening around Dan and Serena's, listening to the two of them count for her. When they reached ten, she let out the breath she was holding before doing it again, groaning as she pushed with all she had.
"Good girl. Take a rest, that one's over. A few more like that and we'll have a baby," Dr. Allan smiled brightly at the young girl. "It'll be over before you know it."
Blair whimpered, shifting with a moan as the next contraction started, her body starting to push against the pain. She let out a soft scream when the pain suddenly changed, clenching her jaw to keep the scream from getting any louder.
Dan winced when he heard her scream, his face paling slightly as he mopped her forehead with the cloth, wiping the sweat away from her eyes as he counted for her. "1, 2, 3, you're doing great, baby, keep going, 7, 8, 9, 10," he said, holding her hand tightly as she clutched it.
"Isn't she out yet?!" Blair cried a half an hour later as her head fell back against the pillows.
"Almost, Blair, almost. The head's right here. One more push and it'll be out," Dr. Allan reassured her.
"I can't. I can't do this anymore," she sobbed, her hand holding onto Dan's.
"Yes, you can. I know you can. You're almost there. I can our baby's head. She's got dark hair," Dan whispered in her ear as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, squeezing easily. "You're so close. Just a few more and you can hold her, okay?"
"Only a few?" Blair looked up at him, her teeth biting into her lip.
"Only a few. Honest. You're so close," Dan nodded, wiping her face dry before kissing her forehead.
"Okay," Blair nodded, taking a deep breath as she felt a new contraction start and she bore down, choking back a scream as the head slipped free.
"Oh god, baby, you're doing it. She's almost here," Dan whispered against Blair's ear before he leaned over, looking down between her knees to watch their child's entrance into the world.
"One more, B, one more. Just the shoulders and you're done," Serena cheered her on, still standing steady beside her. "You've come this far, it's almost over," she kissed the top of Blair's head.
Blair inhaled sharply, closing her eyes tightly as she geared herself up for one more push, her hands tightening again on Dan and Serena's hands before she pushed as hard as she could, her scream echoing in the room only to be replaced by the sound of their newborn baby crying.
"Oh my god. You did it, babe. You totally did it," Dan kissed her deeply as the baby's cries filled the room.
"Congratulations, Mommy! You have a beautiful …"
"Wait!" Blair spoke up, looking up at Dan with a soft grin. "I want Danny to tell me what we have," she said softly.
Dr. Allan grinned and nodded, turning the baby towards Dan so he could get a good look. Dan let out a soft sob, pressing his forehead to Blair's. "It's a boy, baby," he whispered, looking down into her eyes. "We have a little boy."
Blair let out a soft cry, holding her arms out. "I want to see him, please? Let me have him?"
"Of course, honey," Dr. Allan shifted the baby onto the blanket Stacey had laid over Blair's chest, wiping his little face with a towel. "Here's your baby boy, Mommy."
"He's beautiful. Oh my god, he's so beautiful. Look at him, Danny," Blair cried, kissing his forehead as she looked down at him.
"I see him, baby. He has your nose," Dan kissed her temple as he stroked their son's cheek with his finger. "Hey, little man, welcome to the world." he looked up as Dr. Allan handed him a pair of surgical scissors, asking if he wanted to cut the cord. "Yes, absolutely," he said, taking the scissors and cutting where they showed him to cut before handing the scissors back. Moving back closer to Blair, he wrapped his arm around her shoulder, kissing her softly. "Are you upset it's not a girl?" he asked softly.
"No! Oh, no, Danny. He's perfect. I couldn't have asked for anything better," she said, tears still running down her cheeks as she watched her little boy. "Wait! Where are you taking him?" she cried when Stacey lifted him out of her arms.
"We're just going to clean him up and weigh him and wrap him up tight so he doesn't catch cold," Stacey told her calmly. "Don't worry. I'll bring him right back, I promise."
Blair nodded, dropping her head against Dan's shoulder as the baby was carried over to the warming table. Chuck and Nate shifted up, purposefully ignoring Blair's lower half as they moved over to the warmer to join Serena beside the baby.
"Hi, little man. Welcome to the world," Nate said as Chuck pulled out his camera phone, snapping pictures of the baby. Nate looked over at Blair and Dan with a grin. "So, does this little fellow have a name?"
Dan and Blair looked down at each other before looking back over at them. "Charles Nathaniel. Charlie for short," Blair said with a soft smile, her head resting against Dan's.
Chuck and Nate stared at the new parents, their eyes wide and their mouths open while Serena giggled softly beside them. Dan laughed, wiping his face. "Wow. If I knew that's all it would take to shut them up, we could've told them months ago," he teased.
"Charlie Humphrey. Very dignified," Serena grinned as the nurse handed Charlie back to Blair. Moving over, Serena gently kissed Charlie's forehead. "Welcome to the family, sweet baby boy. Hang on, it's going to be a wild ride."
Blair giggled, looking down at Charlie. "She's right, you know. You do have one crazy family. But you're very loved, baby boy."
Dan leaned down, kissing Blair soundly before leaning back to look at his son. "You will be so spoiled, you have no idea," he whispered to the sleeping boy, smiling widely when Blair laid Charlie in his arms. "Hi, my boy. Hi," Dan kissed his son's cheek, holding him close. "We've been waiting for you."
Blair leaned her head on Serena's shoulder, smiling as she watched Dan with Charlie. "Did you ever think this would be our lives, S? You and Nate together. Me with a baby at 18 with Dan Humphrey of all people?" she giggled softly, wiping her tears.
"No, definitely not," Serena laughed, hugging Blair. "But you know what?"
"What?" Blair whispered.
"I wouldn't change anything for the world."
Blair grinned, unable to tear her eyes away from Dan and their son. "Me either," she said, squeezing Serena's hand. "Everything is perfect."